Commercial Property: How Easy Is It To Change A Building’s Use?

Commercial buildings have a use class, to legally define the purpose of the building – so what happens if you want to change the business use?

Converting a commercial property from one type of business to another – such as a factory into a nightclub, for example – can be riddled with red tape, hoops to jump through, and forms to fill out.

This is because the law associated with commercial property is complex and there is much to consider, including planning permission and building regulations, including use classes.

What Are The Use Classes?

While some buildings such as loan shops, pubs and casinos, fall outside of a given use class, most commercial properties will fall under one of these use classes:

• Class E – This covers commercial, business and service use and includes the now revoked classes A1/2/3. Restaurant use will be E(b) and retail sale of goods other than hot food E(a).  Office use is E(c)(i)
• B2 – This covers general industrial buildings.
• B8 – This is used for storage or distribution premises.
• C1 – Hotels

• C2 – Residential Institutions
• C3 –  This is for residential houses. Note that houses in multiple occupancy now fall within C4 (small shared houses occupied by 3-6 unrelated individuals) sharing amenities.
• Sui Generis – This covers a large number of different businesses, including eg. hot food takeaways.

Factors To Consider When Buying Commercial Property

It’s important to consider the correct purpose of a commercial property you’re considering buying, as this will be a good indicator of how likely you’ll be able to convert its use.

Factors to consider when choosing commercial buildings to buy, include:

• Its original use
• Its current use and how long it has been used for this
• Its potential new use
• The views of the local authority on the purpose of the building

How Do You Change The Use?

It’s often possible to change the use of a building, although some properties will require planning permission to do so.

It’s important to seek professional advice from a commercial property solicitor, to establish the current use class of the building and the best way to undertake the change-of-use process involved. Every property is different, and the process will vary in complexity depending on property type, use and location.

As a guide, the steps involved in a commercial property change of use process, include:

• Establish the use class of your building
  There are several ways to do this, including looking at the list of use classes on the government’s planning portal, studying the deeds and land registry documents, and contacting the local council’s planning department to see if they have any building records.
• Understand what the use class means
  Some buildings need planning permission for a change of use, while others are permitted under the Use Classes Order.
• Apply for planning permission for change of use
  If needed, make an application for planning permission to the local council. Certain commercial property use classes require this, as will a building classified as residential that you want to reclassify for commercial purposes.
• Apply for planning permission for building work
  If external building work is needed, you will also need to apply for separate planning permission for this.

It takes at least 8 weeks to achieve a change of use for a commercial building, and the application for this must be carefully prepared.

As part of the application, you must demonstrate that you’ve considered many factors, including:

• The potential impact on the local area in terms of traffic, parking, and noise.
• Building regulations in terms of fire doors, energy efficiency, and facilities the building will require to meet health and safety standards.
• Building insurance
• Commercial waste management
• Licences
• Business rates
• Hygiene regulations if food preparation will be involved with the new use.

To maximise your chances of success with your application for a change of use for your building, it’s recommended that you use a commercial property specialist to help you with the form and to ensure that every aspect of the process has been carefully considered.  If necessary, recommendation can be made to a Planning Consultants.

Helping You With Your Commercial Building Change Of Use

Our specialist commercial property solicitors are here to help you to consider whether the change of use class for your building will be necessary and can put you in touch with and liaise with Planning Consultants to assist in the applications.

Whether your property was classified as residential and you need to change its use to commercial or you need to change a public house into a restaurant, we will support you throughout the process.

Regardless of the legal complexity of the change of use, our approach will be thorough to help you to comply with planning permission, building regulations, use classes, and other criteria relevant for your particular property and desired business type outcome.

If you have any questions relating to uses classes or want to speak to us about applying for a change of use for your building, you can contact us at our Chorlton office on 0161 860 7123 or email chorlton@hlfberry.com or at our Failsworth office on 0161 681 4005 or email failsworth@hlfberry.com and we will do all we can to support you through the process.