Can I operate a business from a residential property?
What happens if you are looking to buy a property or own a property and eager to renovate or make alterations to use it as a business? You may find many houses converted into offices or even as a business. The most common one you would see around are small businesses such as grocery or food outlets. Ask yourself how legal is this? You may want to know what to do in order for you to run a legal operation.
For starters you will have to look at your title deed to verify the correct zoning of the property. The title deed may contain conditions that restrict the running of any business or the operation of certain type of business. It is important to conduct a due diligence on the property. If there are restrictions you can apply to have them lifted. However, this could be a costly exercise. It must be noted that each municipality will have different by-laws governing zoning.
Once you have established the zoning of the property you can then determine whether it will suit your requirements of the type of development you would like to put up. If for example your property is zoned as residential and you would like to develop shops or offices you will need to engage a town planner to apply for rezoning the property as per your needs. This is a time consuming and expensive exercise. Your application for rezoning will require certain conditions which will have to be complied with. It may also be that your application may be unsuccessful. It goes without saying that if you do not have the approval of the local council you will not be able to conduct any type of business on the property.
The implications of conducting an illegal operation on your property may turn out to be not only extremely expensive but also a nightmare. If the Municipality identifies your property for illegal usage they will either instruct you to remedy the transgression or they may require you to remedy the illegal usage. The local authority will most probably impose a penalty for illegal usage or order you to demolish the illegal structure.
Alternatively if you happen to be a tenant operating a business and outlaying substantial capital for fittings and fixtures in a property zoned as residential your losses may be astronomical. You may have to shut your business or relocate elsewhere. This could impact negatively on your finances.
Either way do your homework before you embark on your mission.
For any information on property matters you may contact Ebrahim Saloojee on 0723221779 or 0118520944 or email ems@esprop.co.za