It Just Got Easier To Have A Home Based Business

It used to be that if you wanted to run a business from your home, you had to worry about a number of laws, from permitting laws to zoning regulations, all which would have made your home based business illegal. But a new law in Florida is now going to make opening and operating home based businesses easier.

Restrictions Taken Away

It used to be that cities could say how much of someone’s home could be used for business purposes, or how many family members could be employees of the business. Run afoul of those regulations, and the city or county or municipality could say you were operating a business in violation of code, ordinance, or laws.

But those restrictions are no longer in place, thanks to a new bill being signed by the state, which makes such businesses legal and which would restrict cities or municipalities from impeding the rights of people to operate home based businesses.

Why Was the Law Passed?

The state apparently passed the law for a number of reasons. The first is simply to encourage businesses to open, and to allow people more freedom to make money, without having to pay for business or office space if they can’t afford to do so.

The other reason is because so many businesses were transferred to home businesses during the pandemic shutdowns, and many never reverted back.

Many homeowners are concerned about having commercial traffic on their street, cars parked in their neighborhood, or worse, having “undesirable” businesses, like strip clubs, open next door. Many cities are vowing to fight back, but the law is still too new to know whether there are any loopholes, or what cities will do to try to mitigate the effects of the law.

Other Problems May Still Exist

It should be noted that despite the law, homeowners who run business out of their homes can still run afoul of private homeowners or condominium associations. HOA rules and regulations are private contracts, voluntarily entered into by the property owner and the association, and thus, a home based business could still end up resulting in consequences for the homeowner, if operating a business is restricted by the association.

Remember that continued violations of a homeowners or condominium associations rules can end up in a foreclosure—even if you are current and paid on your dues.

Another thing to remember is that the law provides few if any exceptions for home based businesses when it comes to corporate formalities.

Obviously, smaller businesses may have fewer corporate requirements, but a home based business still should have things like workers’ compensation (if they have the required number of employees), corporate documents like bylaws and resolutions, and policies and procedures.

Home based businesses still will need to get whatever permits would normally be required of those businesses, and of course, additional corporate taxes still need to be paid.

Call the West Palm Beach business litigation attorneys at Pike & Lustig today for help running your business safely.

Resources:

sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-ammo-broward-home-based-business-20211107-vjwdrj6aardgbjsvjygjv3r3k4-story.html

flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/403

chronicleonline.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-home-based-business-law-worries-some/article_fd6cb40e-4563-11ec-b6ec-abfc7b0a487e.html