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Use and User
Mixed User Buildings and Service Charges
25/June/2013
When a building comprises ground floor commercial premises let on a business tenancy, and upper part residential flat sold on a long lease, there are two ways for the landlord to recover the costs and expenses incurred by the landlord… for further reading, please visit LandlordZone newsletter issue 13 - click here
VAT and storage
01/September/2012
"As from 1 October 2012, the VAT exemption for storage facilities was withdrawn on a blanket basis and VAT will automatically be payable on rent even if the option to tax has not been exercised.
VAT Information Sheet 10/13 was published on 9 August 2013 and clarified what was intended by the changes which came in on 1 October 2012. The IS states that the new rules apply to suppliers of “any facility which is used, or could potentially be used, by their customers for the storage of goods and customers who rent facilities to store goods”.
The IS clarifies that the changes do not just apply to “self-storage”, which could be narrowly defined as storage just by the end user, but storage by either the supply recipient (customer) or a third party with the customer`s permission if not under a separate supply (for VAT purpose).
The law refers to “facilities for the self-storage of goods” but the guidance states that the changes are not restricted to the type of storage where a small area within a dedicated building is rented by an individual to store their own personal property. The self-storage of goods, therefore, means any storage of goods by an end user.
Storage use includes physical storage, regardless of the supplier’s intention or any agreement between the parties, or storage implicitly intended from the nature of the premises, or commercial documentation in the absence of other actual use. If premises are used for more than one purpose, the rules on multiple and composite supplies will apply and there are examples contained in the IS.
The ramification for landlords is that, as the supplier of premises, they need to monitor the use to which the leased premises are put. Premises which are exempt from VAT in the normal case (and in respect of which no VAT election has been made) will become chargeable automatically for VAT in the event that the tenant, or a third party with the tenant’s permission, uses the whole or part of the premises for storage.
As is often the case, an absentee or institutional landlord will not know how the tenant is using the premises or permitting their use. The IS recommends that the landlord obtains and retains written confirmation of the use from the tenant. It will be necessary, in future, for all leases to contain a requirement for the tenant to supply such information, so that the landlord can comply with the law.
Where premises are sub-let, the head landlord will not need to charge VAT (in the absence of an election) but the intermediate landlord may need to begin to charge VAT if the sub-tenant or a third party with the sub-tenant’s consent (not a separate sub-underlessee or sub-licensee) begins to use the premises for storage. "
VAT Information Sheet 10/13 was published on 9 August 2013 and clarified what was intended by the changes which came in on 1 October 2012. The IS states that the new rules apply to suppliers of “any facility which is used, or could potentially be used, by their customers for the storage of goods and customers who rent facilities to store goods”.
The IS clarifies that the changes do not just apply to “self-storage”, which could be narrowly defined as storage just by the end user, but storage by either the supply recipient (customer) or a third party with the customer`s permission if not under a separate supply (for VAT purpose).
The law refers to “facilities for the self-storage of goods” but the guidance states that the changes are not restricted to the type of storage where a small area within a dedicated building is rented by an individual to store their own personal property. The self-storage of goods, therefore, means any storage of goods by an end user.
Storage use includes physical storage, regardless of the supplier’s intention or any agreement between the parties, or storage implicitly intended from the nature of the premises, or commercial documentation in the absence of other actual use. If premises are used for more than one purpose, the rules on multiple and composite supplies will apply and there are examples contained in the IS.
The ramification for landlords is that, as the supplier of premises, they need to monitor the use to which the leased premises are put. Premises which are exempt from VAT in the normal case (and in respect of which no VAT election has been made) will become chargeable automatically for VAT in the event that the tenant, or a third party with the tenant’s permission, uses the whole or part of the premises for storage.
As is often the case, an absentee or institutional landlord will not know how the tenant is using the premises or permitting their use. The IS recommends that the landlord obtains and retains written confirmation of the use from the tenant. It will be necessary, in future, for all leases to contain a requirement for the tenant to supply such information, so that the landlord can comply with the law.
Where premises are sub-let, the head landlord will not need to charge VAT (in the absence of an election) but the intermediate landlord may need to begin to charge VAT if the sub-tenant or a third party with the sub-tenant’s consent (not a separate sub-underlessee or sub-licensee) begins to use the premises for storage. "
Use Class A5
01/March/2009
In 2009, LB Waltham Forest introduced a policy, likely to be copied by other planning authorities, of not allowing take-away food shops to open within 400 metres of schools, parks and youth centres. Also, the North East London planning authority has begun consulting on a suite of development control policies which would restrict the number of fast-food outlets within primary, secondary and retail parade zones.
Until the 400-metre rule becomes nationally adopted planning policy, the point would only arise within LB Waltham Forest. In the meantime, to prepare for the possibility!
At rent review in the lease of premises whereby the permitted user is take-away foods - Use Class A5 is hot food takeaway, and possibly A3 - an assumption of the hypothetical tenant being able to get planning permission for such use is normal. If the premises are within 400 metres of a school, park and youth-centre, then in the open market the assumption would fail in practice. That could have the effect of either increasing the market rent, on the basis that if the premises did not already have take-away use then it would not be allowed, in which case there is a scarcity value, or reducing the market rent on the basis that in the market such planning use would not be allowed.
At lease expiry, if the tenant requires a lower rent or it will not renew, the landlord will have to weigh up the consequences of conceding a lower rent against the risk not being able to re-let the premises for take-away use if the planning permission for such use were to elapse.
There are thousands of take-away food shops. Checking the distance to the nearest school, park and youth-centre will be necessary when evaluating the rent.
Until the 400-metre rule becomes nationally adopted planning policy, the point would only arise within LB Waltham Forest. In the meantime, to prepare for the possibility!
At rent review in the lease of premises whereby the permitted user is take-away foods - Use Class A5 is hot food takeaway, and possibly A3 - an assumption of the hypothetical tenant being able to get planning permission for such use is normal. If the premises are within 400 metres of a school, park and youth-centre, then in the open market the assumption would fail in practice. That could have the effect of either increasing the market rent, on the basis that if the premises did not already have take-away use then it would not be allowed, in which case there is a scarcity value, or reducing the market rent on the basis that in the market such planning use would not be allowed.
At lease expiry, if the tenant requires a lower rent or it will not renew, the landlord will have to weigh up the consequences of conceding a lower rent against the risk not being able to re-let the premises for take-away use if the planning permission for such use were to elapse.
There are thousands of take-away food shops. Checking the distance to the nearest school, park and youth-centre will be necessary when evaluating the rent.