| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Finding a place where "working from home" is allowed - feedback needed Thread poster: Faustine.Rou (X)
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Faustine.Rou (X)
Local time: 07:52
English to French
Hi all,
First of all, I'm sorry if this is the wrong topic to post this message.
I am trying to find a new place to live, but it seems difficult to find a contract that doesn't have a clause excluding any business carried in the property. I am always told to find a "commercial let".
Well, I am wondering how UK residents, self-employed translators, found their flat/house.
Do you have a special let ? Did you agree to remove this clause from the contrac... See more Hi all,
First of all, I'm sorry if this is the wrong topic to post this message.
I am trying to find a new place to live, but it seems difficult to find a contract that doesn't have a clause excluding any business carried in the property. I am always told to find a "commercial let".
Well, I am wondering how UK residents, self-employed translators, found their flat/house.
Do you have a special let ? Did you agree to remove this clause from the contract? Did you just lie to the agents or not mention where you work?
I am a bit stuck here, as agents don't seem very flexible.
I thank you in advance for your "help", suggestions etc. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 08:52
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| City council, perhaps? | Dec 4, 2012 |
Faustine Roux wrote:
I am trying to find a new place to live, but it seems difficult to find a contract that doesn't have a clause excluding any business carried in the property. I am always told to find a "commercial let".
Where I'm from (Holland), a similar thing is handled by the city countil -- they're the ones who decide whether you're allowed to do businesses from any given premises. What I did was to contact them shortly after I moved in to find out whether I'm allowed to be a freelance translator with my house being my place of business, and they replied saying that this particular activity is not excluded for this particular property, so I'm free to be a translator at home. Would the UK have something similar?
I suspect something that landlords try to avoid is the possibility that clients will be visiting your house, or that colleagues will regularly visit the house and/or park their cars outside, etc.
Doesn't it also affect insurance or council tax if your main use of the property is for business?
| | | | Faustine.Rou (X)
Local time: 07:52
English to French
TOPIC STARTER | Me vs letting agents | Dec 4, 2012 |
Well... I tried to ask why they had such a clause to find out whether it was a matter of having clients coming round etc. Unfortunately, I'm not great on the phone and find it difficult to understand English (+yorkshire accent) on the phone.
But basically, what I understood was "you would need a commercial let, you're self-employed, so you have a business, it says no business, period".
Someone I know who worked for an estate agent mentioned the issue of insurance. But he did... See more Well... I tried to ask why they had such a clause to find out whether it was a matter of having clients coming round etc. Unfortunately, I'm not great on the phone and find it difficult to understand English (+yorkshire accent) on the phone.
But basically, what I understood was "you would need a commercial let, you're self-employed, so you have a business, it says no business, period".
Someone I know who worked for an estate agent mentioned the issue of insurance. But he didn't say much about it, beer preventing him from making much sense.
It seems that in the UK, agents and landlords have a lot of rights, if not too many. No pets, not children, no benefits, no smokers, no self-employed, no business, no this and that... I was even treated differently because I was French once, while being a UK residents for the past 4 years...
Ranting mode off now. Thank you Samuel for your message, I will try and find out if exceptions can be made according to the business in question. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | As you've noticed | Dec 4, 2012 |
Letting agencies add a zillion clauses to the contract. In my last rented flat I wasn't allowed to light candles (how was I to celebrate x-mas?) due to the fire risk, but thankfully there was no clause preventing me from using the gas cooker which also involved open fire.
Unless you just want to ignore these ridiculous clauses - I'm of course not advocating this, but may or may not have done so in the past - I suggest renting directly from a BTL landlord. They are usually more reaso... See more Letting agencies add a zillion clauses to the contract. In my last rented flat I wasn't allowed to light candles (how was I to celebrate x-mas?) due to the fire risk, but thankfully there was no clause preventing me from using the gas cooker which also involved open fire.
Unless you just want to ignore these ridiculous clauses - I'm of course not advocating this, but may or may not have done so in the past - I suggest renting directly from a BTL landlord. They are usually more reasonable. ▲ Collapse
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Faustine.Rou (X)
Local time: 07:52
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Madeleine !!!
Yes, I'm not allowed to have candles either... But I am also told to let the windows open in winter to avoid having mould in the flat... OK, landlords/agents are from a different planet.
Will have a look at BTL landlords.
Thanks again!
| | | | NataliaAnne
Brazil
Local time: 03:52
Portuguese to English
| David Wright
Austria
Local time: 08:52
German to English
+ ...
When I rented a flat for a short period in the UK, I just never mentioned that I was a freelancer. It's not something people are really going to notice if you don't have customers coming to the door (and indeed is a freelancer a "business"?). Still, if you're planning to live there longer you might need to be careful.
An alternative is to contact the landlord directly. The agents have standard clauses and the actual ownier might not give a monkey's whether you work from home or not... See more When I rented a flat for a short period in the UK, I just never mentioned that I was a freelancer. It's not something people are really going to notice if you don't have customers coming to the door (and indeed is a freelancer a "business"?). Still, if you're planning to live there longer you might need to be careful.
An alternative is to contact the landlord directly. The agents have standard clauses and the actual ownier might not give a monkey's whether you work from home or not. (I was also a landlord in teh UK and I'm pretty sure my agent had that clause, but if my tenant had asked if he could work as a freelance translator I would never have objected). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:52
Hebrew to English
| In my experience.... | Dec 4, 2012 |
....most of these "restrictions" are rarely enforced...(except maybe the pets and kids ones). Especially the more random ones like what you do for a living, what business is it of theirs as long as you pay your rent every month and don't destroy the property with your translations (don't ask me how this would be achieved).
I think the great fear of landlords is that a self-employed person would be renting a residential property for commercial purposes (using it like a shop or offic... See more ....most of these "restrictions" are rarely enforced...(except maybe the pets and kids ones). Especially the more random ones like what you do for a living, what business is it of theirs as long as you pay your rent every month and don't destroy the property with your translations (don't ask me how this would be achieved).
I think the great fear of landlords is that a self-employed person would be renting a residential property for commercial purposes (using it like a shop or office). This clearly isn't really the case with translators - we work from home, it's not the same as most other self-employed professions imo.
On the whole - letting agents are idiots and it's best to avoid them, have you considered renting from a private individual directly? Usually far less stipulations, if any.
If need be, I would advise being economical with the truth. It's not going to kill anyone.
I'm not sure it would affect insurance, not by a noticeable margin anyway and council tax would be unaffected as this is calculated by the band the property falls under (according to location, value, size), nothing else. ▲ Collapse
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 00:52
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Don't mention it | Dec 4, 2012 |
You would need to mention it only if you have clients going in an out but otherwise it's nobody's business what you are doing on your computer in your own place at your own time. When asked, you are a translator and you work from home. I think what people are worried about is whether or not you will be able to pay the rent. A letter of recommendation from your previous landlord or, if necessary, from your accountant should be sufficient.
Indeed, as Ty says, you need to get a little ... See more You would need to mention it only if you have clients going in an out but otherwise it's nobody's business what you are doing on your computer in your own place at your own time. When asked, you are a translator and you work from home. I think what people are worried about is whether or not you will be able to pay the rent. A letter of recommendation from your previous landlord or, if necessary, from your accountant should be sufficient.
Indeed, as Ty says, you need to get a little more tenant insurance to cover your office furniture and equipment but that doesn't cost a lot extra.
[Edited at 2012-12-04 17:19 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-12-04 17:23 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Faustine.Rou (X)
Local time: 07:52
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Well, I'd be very happy to not mention anything. But the first thing they ask is "What do you do for a living ?". I can say I'm a translator, but then, they ask where I work, who's my employer... Isn't it obvious that I work from home if I'm a freelancer ?
| | | | Daniel Bird
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:52
German to English
| Excuse for a brush-off rather than a genuine reason, I think | Dec 4, 2012 |
The agents you are talking to do not wish to rent to anyone self-employed, not just translators and others who typically work from home. No regular income backed by PAYE evidence = no dice.
If an agent suggests you take a commercial let, how can it be a dwelling at the same time? That cuts both ways, they're simply being awkward.
There are reasonable agents out there and private landlords too; good luck, keep plugging away, you're sure to find one.
DB
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Buy a place
Get a flatmate on a payroll
Lie
Buy the services of those specialised companies who rent you a business address and keep your mail (domiciliation fiscale in FR)
Believe it or not, I faced the same problem when living in Morocco. I first found an understanding landlord, then I bought a flat.
Philippe
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Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:52
French to English
+ ...
| Have you actually spoken to them? | Dec 4, 2012 |
Faustine Roux wrote:
Well, I am wondering how UK residents, self-employed translators, found their flat/house.
Do you have a special let ? Did you agree to remove this clause from the contract? Did you just lie to the agents or not mention where you work?
Have you actually talked to them about it? I doubt there is any actual problem -- it may just be that their contract or advert is poorly worded.
I'm pretty sure that what they're really referring to is that what they don't want to permit is that the premises are officially "converted into business premises" in a way that would incur more taxes or legal liability, or mean that wagons were constantly pulling up at the drive to deliver pallets of toxic chemicals, or that you were conducting activities that would go against the buildings insurance etc.
But I doubt that any of these are the case if you're just doing the prototypical thing of dedicating one room or area to translation activities and where you are essentially working on your own. In other words, the property is ostensibly remaining a "residential" property from a legal point of view.
So I would just be open with the agency from the outset-- I doubt there's really a big problem if you talk to them about it.
| | | | Faustine.Rou (X)
Local time: 07:52
English to French
TOPIC STARTER | Try explaining something to a wall. | Dec 4, 2012 |
Neil, yes, I talked to them. I explained very clearly that I don't have clients, goods sold, sent or/and delivered. I explained what my job consists of, that I wouldn't turn the place into an office space, a shop, a factory, etc.
The answer was : You are self-employed, you want to rent a place and work from there, it means you will carry a business in the flat and this is not permitted.
I tried to explain again, and again and see if we could find an agreement, but they... See more Neil, yes, I talked to them. I explained very clearly that I don't have clients, goods sold, sent or/and delivered. I explained what my job consists of, that I wouldn't turn the place into an office space, a shop, a factory, etc.
The answer was : You are self-employed, you want to rent a place and work from there, it means you will carry a business in the flat and this is not permitted.
I tried to explain again, and again and see if we could find an agreement, but they said they can't change the contract, there is this clause in it, period.
If that's not being obstinate... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:52
Hebrew to English
| These people sound like morons.... | Dec 4, 2012 |
Find other agents, or find a landlord directly. I wouldn't bother trying to nail jelly to a wall by engaging further with these intransigent automatons.
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