Working from home

WFH

It is important to remember that Augustus Court is registered legally as a residential property and classified as such (Planning Use Class C3 - see below) for insurance and mortgage companies. Any change to that status would have major implications. As a means of protecting this, Schedule III-24(b) of the leaseholder's agreement with the freeholder makes reference to not running a business from within your property. This applies both to owner/occupiers and, when a unit is let, to tenants.

However, the past decade or two has seen a significant change in the working pattern of many people, especially with the advances in technology, and there has been a large increase in those having the option of either:

working from home or
wanting to run a business from home.

It is recognised that total restriction of such working practices is not to the benefit of residents.

Having taken advice and avoiding costly changes to all leases, Abbotdeal has relaxed its enforcement of the aforementioned Clause to enable working from home so that the regular, temporary or occasional use of your flat as a place from which to work is not an issue. However for those wishing to run their own businesses from within Augustus Court this is subject to the following conditions:

If wanting to operate your own business from your flat, whether part-time or full-time, you must first gain approval from the freeholder via the Managing Agent (or via the owner/leaseholder of the flat if you are a tenant), specifying the precise nature of the business.

The freeholder has the right to decline approval if it considers the proposal to be in conflict with the interests of the owners and residents of Augustus Court.

No business/company must use any flat within Augustus Court or the property as a whole as its registered company address. Using it as a correspondence or delivery address is not an issue but the company registered address must be elsewhere other than anywhere within Augustus Court.

No visible advertising for your business/company must be displayed anywhere on the premises.

The flat must not be specified in any agreement (financial or otherwise) that may lead to forced entry of the flat by third parties or agencies in the case of you defaulting on that agreement.

You must ensure you are aware of HM Revenue & Customs’ interpretation of the use of more than one room within your home for business purposes and any associated tax implications. Both the Land Registry and HM Revenue & Customs are keeping a closer eye on properties like Augustus Court to ensure they maintain a distinction between home and business use.

The primary purpose and use of your flat must remain as residential at all times and it must be your principal home, i.e. it does not breach Planning Use Class C3 (principal or secondary personal dwelling). The primary purpose and use of the flat must not be for a business.

There is a clear understanding that the car park is very limited in space, is intended primarily for the use of residents, there is no space for designated visitor parking and that your visitors/clients must not block other vehicles already parked.