Leasehold agreement problem

[dadoo]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forums so hi five to everyone. I've been running my childminding business for over a year now. I mind from rented property and my LL was fine with that until just recently relised there ia a statement in property leashold agreement which says "property cannot be used for any other purposes then residential". As the results LL advised to close the business down. I've been to the property for few years now and wouldnt like to move. I have couple of weeks to sort this out.

How do I deal with this? Is there any way I can help my landlord to get formal permission for continuing the childminding? Can leasehold agreement be ammended in such cases? Is moving out the only option here? Plese help!

[loocyloo]

hi, and welcome

i'm not sure to be honest, childminding isn't always considered a business/non-residential, so its a grey area.

i am renting currently and told everyone that i would be needing to childmind from the property. my landlord had to clear it with his insurance company, but other than that, i don't think there were any restrictions.

hopefully someone who knows more about it can help.

xxx

[dadoo]

hi, and welcome

i'm not sure to be honest, childminding isn't always considered a business/non-residential, so its a grey area.

Thanks! I just had a quick chat with my council and seems like they got confused with my question, trasfering me from departament to departament counldnt give me straight answer, a bit weird since the same council is producing these leashold agreements. I also contacted NCMA and they dont consider this as a problem, but waiting from more feedback from them. Also I'm still awaiting for one of the council workers to get back to me. it seems like nobody knows how to handle such situation. I understand my LL position, just want not to breach the agreement.

[anthea jane]

My letting company just amended the contract, put in a clause that I'm responsible for every thing to do with the business,( getting insurance etc.. )

Anthea

[rickysmiths]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forums so hi five to everyone. I've been running my childminding business for over a year now. I mind from rented property and my LL was fine with that until just recently relised there ia a statement in property leashold agreement which says "property cannot be used for any other purposes then residential". As the results LL advised to close the business down. I've been to the property for few years now and wouldnt like to move. I have couple of weeks to sort this out.

How do I deal with this? Is there any way I can help my landlord to get formal permission for continuing the childminding? Can leasehold agreement be ammended in such cases? Is moving out the only option here? Plese help!

Hi there. Welcome to the forum.

I lived in a Leasehold flat for 20yrs, I was buying it but the terms of the Lease apply to the ownwer and whoever lives in the flat.

The no business clause is very common in a Lease, its their to protect other residents from some running something that impinges on the other ownwers and is anti-social.

In most flats now, because of our change in Life style and the world wide web, many people work from home in ways that that have no impact whatsoever on their neighbours.

Indeed I had lived in my flat for 10 years before I started Childminding and went on to successfully childmind in it for 10 years.

The key is not to panic, have a meeting with your landlord and with him you need to write to the Freeholder and ask their permission to carry on childminding, indeed Ofsted usually ask to see eveidence of this permission when cms are in flats.

When it is explained to the Freeholder clearly what you do, presumably that unwittingly you have been doing for a year with your Landlords permission with no complaints from or adverse affects on your neighbours. You should find they will give permission for you to continue. Just be prepared for it to take a little while, it depends on who the Freeholders are, to get your request in and responed to.

It may be that you and the Landlord will need to go to one of the meetings and explain and for them to meet you. Also if the neighbours are happy maybe some of them would be kind enough to write a letter of support confirming they are not in anyway disturbed and send them with the letter to the Freeholder.

I have a lot of experience because we helped the residents of our block to buy the Freehold of our block of 27 flats and 2 others of 27 and 30 flats and enabled 7 other blocks out of 13 on the estate to do the same.

We formed a Management Company with the other 2 blocks and I was on the Board of Directors of our Freehold Company for 6 years before we moved.

Good luck. Feel Free to pm me if you need any more info.

[dadoo]

Good luck. Feel Free to pm me if you need any more info.

Thanks for your post its really good. I might come back to you with some more questions. Currently I'm after few conversations with both NMCA and my local council, actually few different departaments at the council and this looks like the first problem like that in the history of childminding because they struggle to provide straigh answers.

Both NCMA and Council say they dont have a probelm with leashold agreement and nobody ever raised such subject, although they agree its not clear because the actual agreement reads 'residential use only'. As far as I know long time ago when this lease was signed, childmindig wasnt even a business formally so this wasnt an issue. I'm now looking to get some formal confirmation that I can continue my business, which would be good starting point for conversation with my landlord. Its not enough to say that it is breach to the agreement but nobody ever does anything about it so its ok, am I thinking right here?