In most cases, operating a business from your home isn’t legal. Most U.S. laws limit the locations and under what conditions a business can operate.
Yet, if every illegal home-run business in the country were shut down, millions of companies would be impacted, the economy would suffer a major blow, and the country could risk falling into a dramatic recession. All that together would mean sending tons of people into joblessness.
So, how can you tell if you can or can’t use your home as a business?
Let’s take a closer look.
Is It Legal to Run Your Business From Your Home?
The first thing you should figure out is whether your planned business can legally operate out of your home. If not, you’ll need to make some important decisions, like whether or not to proceed with your plan, try for a variance, or even operate as quietly as you can, aiming to fly below the radar.
It would be logistically difficult for local government officials to inspect every home to see whether or not there’s a small business operating at the property. But if a neighbor complains, the building inspector must enforce the necessary zoning ordinances.
What’s more, hanging out even the smallest sign or allowing commercial vehicles on your property, and putting in more parking can trigger complaints from even the friendliest of neighbors.
Rules and Restrictions
One of the main elements to consider when deciding whether or not to use your home as a business is whether any laws limit, regulate or forbid the type of businesses that can be run from a residence.
The main reasoning behind restrictive or prohibitive zoning laws is to maintain the character of a residential neighborhood. On the other hand, it’s usually illegal to live in commercially zoned areas.
Local zoning laws can impose a whole list of restrictions that affect your ability to run a home business. Some areas restrict the right of a property owner to build a separate structure on the premises. What’s more, local zoning laws tend to limit how many employees you can have, or not, working in your house.
What to Know About Zoning
What’s more, just because you live in a residential area, doesn’t mean your home-run business automatically violates zoning laws. In many instances, you can apply for a specific license or pay a variance fee.
The zoning board can notify your neighbors for you and hold a hearing to determine if your proposed business should be allowed to run from home. If things go this way, remember that the same people who you gossip with over the back fence might not be keen on you running a business from home. There’s always the possibility of things getting nasty if they don’t want businesses in the neighborhood.
The best thing to do is to give them details of your plans beforehand.
The Next Step
As with anything in both business and life, common sense rules. If you’re planning on selling a product, it’s important to ensure it doesn’t violate any of your neighborhood restrictions. For example, hazardous materials should definitely not be in a residential area and will put you in violation of your area’s zoning laws. Make sure you research your particular product’s safety when researching zoning issues.
Zoning board approval is definitely needed if you wish to expand your home for your business needs. Some most people don’t like the idea of living in a business zone, you’ll need to keep the appearance of your extension residential and in line with the area’s aesthetics.
Researching zoning laws can and does pay off when you want to run a home business. Your local municipal offices will have the information you need, but it’s a good idea to consult with a legal expert to ensure you don’t contravene zoning regulations.
If you want to use your home as a business, book a consultation at Principal Law Firm today to determine if you’re contravening zoning regulations.
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