Home Occupations
Operating A Business From Your House In The Residential Zone
If you are thinking of setting up a small scale business from your home while you are living there, then your activity could be classified as a Home Occupation.
A Home Occupation is:
an occupation, craft, profession or service for direct or indirect commercial gain and/or carried out on a repetitive basis in a dwelling unit or a building accessory thereto and ancillary to the use of that site for residential purposes. Such a use shall not include restaurants, service stations, the repair, painting, panel beating or wrecking of motor vehicles and crematoria.
The provision of a business run from your home is on the basis that they operate on a small scale and do not have a detrimental effect on the residential area that you live in. That is why the District Plan has set rules for Home Occupations to be controlled. For example, the size of the operation, hours of operation, number of signs on the site, noise etc.
The conditions/rules that you must meet are detailed in the Home Occupation brochure.
The conditions mainly relate to:
1. Number of Employees
2. Floor Area
3. Dust
4. Storage of outdoor equipment or materials
5. Hours of Operation
6. Signs
7. Retailing
8. Glare
9. Parking and Access
10. Noise
11. Hazardous Substances
The full rules can also be found in Section 11 – Residential Zone of the District Plan.
If you are unable to meet one or more of the rules, then you will need a resource consent.
However, if you do think that you meet all the rules, you may want to apply for a Certificate of Compliance which is a legal document issued to you from Council saying that your activity meets the relevant rules of the District Plan.
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