Business rates guidance and property legislation amongst new package of support
Business minister Matthew Hancock has today unveiled a series of new measures which aim to give entrepreneurs “greater freedom” to start and grow a business from home.
Announced this morning at the inaugural Home Business Summit in London, the new measures include business rates guidance to make it clear that the majority of home-based entrepreneurs will be exempt from business rates.
Budding home-based entrepreneurs will also benefit from new legislation for rental homes to make it easier for people to run a business from a rented property; with a new model tenancy agreement to be made available shortly.
In addition, the government will be issuing updated planning guidance to clarify that planning permission is not needed to run a business from home.
The package of support follows recent BIS (Business is Great) statistics which suggest that around 70% of UK start-ups begin at home; contributing an estimated £300bn to the economy.
Discussing the news, Hancock said: “There’s never been a better time to start a business, and even more people are choosing to start up from home.
“Home businesses don’t just fire up the economic engines and create jobs, they turn dormitory towns into living communities, they keep our streets safer, and by driving down car emissions, cleaner too.
“We know that starting up any business can also be hugely stressful and that’s why today I am announcing that the government will change the law to make life easier for Britain’s home businesses.”
Updated planning and business rates guidance will be available here.
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