Are most girls breaking the law working from home?

[Maritsa]

I wanted to pick all your brains and seek some advice as I am in a bit of a dilemma with my manicure business.
So my dilemma is that I have recently bought a semi detached town house and with townhouses the garage is at the front of the house forming part of the house and this garage section I have just converted into a room/with sink where I will do my nails and spray tanning. As this is a semi detached property I have created a new door/entrance at the side/alleyway so clients can come in separately to the room (converted garage) from the side without coming into my house from the front, more privacy this way.
Here is the problem, I have contacted the council discretely and they have informed me that in order to do nails I will need to apply for a special treatment license and this involves putting up a notice in front of my house just to see if neighbors will object etc, but in addition to this, I will need to apply for planning permission which will most likely not be granted because I have a new separate door created on the side where people can come straight into the new room/garage from the street. As you can imagine all this is a bit to take in.
I was wondering what all your thoughts were about all this planning permission and special treatment license stuff and whether there is a better strategy that I should apply?
I also discovered from the council that if I just operate out of one of my bedrooms upstairs and abandon the idea of using my converted garage/room and the clients use my main entrance through the original front of the house then no planning permission is required and the only license I would need would be the special treatment license as manicures by law require you to have that special treatment license, spray tanning and waxing does not need the special treatment license.
I really appreciate any ideas or suggestions that anyone has or experiences of going through this.
Best wishes and many thanks.

 

[fluffy26]

Sometimes doing things "by the book" doesn't do us any favours!! :wink2:

 

[Kat91]

Omg.

Honestly, who are the people who sit down and think up all these "laws" and regulations?

You'd think there'd be more important issues in the world other than having one door too many.

 

[Charlistar]

Its different rules for different councils. Think youre a bit unlucky there.

 

[libbylou]

Just to keep them off your back , why dont you just say you are using one of the bedrooms, then move it to your garage after they have been. I would not even consider working without your licence , the fine is to hefty,and they are very straight forward,as long as you have a nvq in nail technology. You only need one neighbor to complain and the council would investigate. So i would apply for my licence, then move to the garage x

 

[trudy.trudylee]

When u say licence for nails do we need that for using just gel polish or are you talking acrylic & enhancements etc?

 

[the_owl]

I'm going through this right now! I live in London, and am converting my garage to use as a treatment room. I thought for a long time about not declaring it to the council but ultimately, I decided I wanted to do things properly. I am required to get a special treatment licence, I need to get sign off from the fire brigade and I need an environmental health inspector to come to my property an ensure everything is safe in terms of health and safety.

Interestingly, according to my council at least, you need a special treatment licence for massage, facials, manicures/pedicures (even just for basic polish), laser, aromatherapy, electrolysis, electrical facials etc. It's not cheap (quite a few hundred pounds), which makes me wonder how many people just don't bother and hope they get away with it...

 

[Lilypie]

When u say licence for nails do we need that for using just gel polish or are you talking acrylic & enhancements etc?

A license is needed for any treatment

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[squidgernetball]

A license is needed for any treatment

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Depending on your council!

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[Myarka]

Welcome to the world of business. If you run a business you a subject of lots of laws and regulations, and it doesn’t matter if you run it at home or you have a premises. Every building has a planning use, and home is domestic. So if you want to use part of your home specifically for a business it will require planning permission, and then that part of the building will be subject to business rates. Your neighbours may object to the planning application on the grounds of parking and traffic. If you do get planning permission, then the portion of your home used for the business will be subject to capital gains tax.

You may have a clause in your deeds that forbids you from running a business from your home. If your home is rented, housing authority or council, you could be in breach or your tenancy agreement.

The special licence is not applicable to all parts of the country

So what will happen if you don’t inform the council etc? Everything will fine until something goes wrong, if you had a fire or flood and you had to claim off your insurance, your insurer would probably pick up that you’re operating outside of the law and not pay out. What if you had a health and safety incident and a client claimed off you? Or is your next door neighbour isn’t happy because your clients are parking in “their space”?

If you’re serious about being self-employed and having your own business, it’s best to go in with your eyes open and do a business plan where you can weigh up all the pros and cons. Business is stressful enough and it’s not worth the extra hassle of constantly looking over your shoulder because you’re working outside the law.

 

[trudy.trudylee]

Wow, on the few courses I've been on recently & they say about health. & safety etc no one has ever mentioned licences! I do beauty wise mani pedi gel polish & facials. I work in a room at a private timeshare swim pool where they have been assessed for h & s & business rates etc. would I still need to check with council?

 

[libbylou]

Yes just check the website, or ring up and ask. Not all councils require them. If you do need one , then you will have to be qualified to at least a nvq 2 level.

 

[Miniminx13]

It sounds like its thing specific to your council. I operate from home including manis and dutifully rang health and safety, council, mortgage company etc. In my area no special licences are required except for ear piercing, electrolysis etc. council made a note but weren't bothered as it's one room, occasional business use.....

 

[Myarka]

As planning is concerned, if you use an existing room that has other functions, i.e. Bedroom or Dinning room, it isn't a problem.

It's when you convert a room or build an extension with its own entrance for the exclusive of a business that you need planning permission.

As far as deeds and tenancy agreements, you need to read your documents.

 

[molemaid]

I agree with Myarka. My house is an old coaching inn and i have converted part of it into a salon. It has its own entrance etc. and i had to work with the council because it was a major conversion and i needed consents such as change of use, listed building consent and building regulations. My council were very good but i spoke to them before i started and we worked to their specifications, they inspected the premises before we opened to check regarding fire doors etc. and all was good before they had been involved from the start. Personally i wouldnt advise starting in one room and then moving to the garage, as previously said what if something goes wrong, or what if you become really busy and the neighbours get fed up and complain? In my area you dont need any kind of licence to practice but also remember that you need public liability insurance. Regarding business rates there is a scheme called Small Business Rate Relief and for the size of premises you are looking at it may cover all of your business rates. Whatever you decide to do, good luck xx

 

[Lilypie]

Depending on your council!

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Yes I was meaning that if your council insist on a license, you need one for any treatments not just acrylics for example which is what trudy was questioning

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[Maritsa]

Hi Guys,

Thanks so much for all your replies, so wonderful to be able to share problems in this way. I am one of those people that can not do anything dishonest so will just come clean to the council and operate within the law, I would be too scared to do anything wrong and risk fines etc.

Best wishes

 

[Kellymc]

I have been very interested in this thread as just been ploughing through some discussions and it's made me think....

I am currently renting a house with husband and 3 children and I am in the middle of my semi permanent eyelash extension course (case studies stage). I was hoping to start doing them from our kids study (which was our dining room not long ago) and as I had clients come I would just set up the bed etc and remove when finished.

From what I have currently read online then do I not need planning permission for this as the room will still be used daily as the kids study (just with a couch, PC and their telly in there)?

I am aware I will need to inform my letting agent to ask permission from our landlord however if he doesn't let me I don't know what I could do and would just have wasted £400+ on my course and equipment 😞.

I would definitely be too paranoid and scared to do without following all regulations and requirements.

 

[HollyVictoria]

I'm in London too (Newham) and if you are part of certain professional bodies, they exempt you from applying for the licence. For example if you are a member of FHT, you don't need a licence. It's all very confusing and there's no continuity. I contacted my council a few times to see if I needed to apply for a licence for doing nails if I'm a member of fht which is mainly for holistic treatments and I never heard back. Rung them up and the girl said she'd never heard of a special treatments licence!!? Eventually got through to the health and safety guy and he said if I was doing treatments privately on the odd few occasions then I could 'get away' with no licence. Very frustrating when you want to do things the right way and you aren't given the right advice. Anyone else have this problem? X

 

[libbylou]

kelly while really good advice has been given here, ALWAYS check with your local council. You may or may not need a special licence or planning permission etc. A lot of landlords can be quite funny about a business being ran from their property. It may invalidate their insurance, the mortgage company may refuse them, or quite simply it just may annoy the neighbors. It is not worth losing your home so always check. If you are refused you could always do mobile.