ᐅ Approval office in the basement – Self-employed (digital work only)
Created on: 19 Feb 2025 12:15
T
tom_tom
I am currently feeling very frustrated and hope to get your ideas and experiences.
Although I am officially self-employed, I work alone at my computer digitally, without any physical goods, and without receiving business partners or clients at home. In my opinion, this activity corresponds more to that of a freelancer working from a home office at a computer.
Nevertheless, the building authority has informed me:
“The commercial use of the office in the basement is not permitted because the development plan designates the area as a general residential zone, and the exceptions according to § 4 para. 3 of the Federal Land Utilization Ordinance (Baunutzungsverordnung) do not apply. Therefore, we cannot grant an exception for use as a non-disruptive commercial enterprise. Accordingly, only a domestic study or home office is possible.”
Does this mean my situation would actually qualify as a “domestic study” or home office? What do you think?
Although we had planned with the architect a large concrete light well with a big window meeting the minimum window area requirements, the correct maximum sill height, and a suitably sized emergency exit as a second escape route, the building authority further states:
“The lighting of the room in the basement via the light well is insufficient according to the technical officer’s assessment. It is only sufficient if there is 1.0 m (3.3 ft) of level ground followed by a slope at a 45° angle relative to ground level to allow light penetration. For appropriate lighting, the plan must be revised and resubmitted so that we can review whether an exemption from the development plan is possible. A waiver procedure would no longer be possible because the development plan’s stipulations regarding excavations/slopes cannot be met.”
Currently, our building authority requires 1 to 1.5 years for a building permit according to an architect. We wanted to accelerate this process through the waiver procedure if possible. Additionally, I did not want to implement the requested lighting solution for the office.
Planning the office outside the basement would significantly increase costs. Any creative ideas?
What would you do?
Although I am officially self-employed, I work alone at my computer digitally, without any physical goods, and without receiving business partners or clients at home. In my opinion, this activity corresponds more to that of a freelancer working from a home office at a computer.
Nevertheless, the building authority has informed me:
“The commercial use of the office in the basement is not permitted because the development plan designates the area as a general residential zone, and the exceptions according to § 4 para. 3 of the Federal Land Utilization Ordinance (Baunutzungsverordnung) do not apply. Therefore, we cannot grant an exception for use as a non-disruptive commercial enterprise. Accordingly, only a domestic study or home office is possible.”
Does this mean my situation would actually qualify as a “domestic study” or home office? What do you think?
Although we had planned with the architect a large concrete light well with a big window meeting the minimum window area requirements, the correct maximum sill height, and a suitably sized emergency exit as a second escape route, the building authority further states:
“The lighting of the room in the basement via the light well is insufficient according to the technical officer’s assessment. It is only sufficient if there is 1.0 m (3.3 ft) of level ground followed by a slope at a 45° angle relative to ground level to allow light penetration. For appropriate lighting, the plan must be revised and resubmitted so that we can review whether an exemption from the development plan is possible. A waiver procedure would no longer be possible because the development plan’s stipulations regarding excavations/slopes cannot be met.”
Currently, our building authority requires 1 to 1.5 years for a building permit according to an architect. We wanted to accelerate this process through the waiver procedure if possible. Additionally, I did not want to implement the requested lighting solution for the office.
Planning the office outside the basement would significantly increase costs. Any creative ideas?
What would you do?
Similar situation for me. The room is designated as a hobby room in the building permit / planning permission. However, this was the case from the beginning, because it is actually a small granny flat, which I preferred not to define as such for certain reasons. I rent out the room (including shower bathroom, plus storage room and workshop) together with my wife to my limited company. No one cares about that...
Of course, I have to pay taxes on the rental income, but this way everything is clearly separated and neither the tax office nor the building authorities can complain.
A second escape route is available.
Of course, I have to pay taxes on the rental income, but this way everything is clearly separated and neither the tax office nor the building authorities can complain.
A second escape route is available.
HausiKlausi19 Feb 2025 21:03I am self-employed and work from home a lot. I don’t have direct personal experience with this specific issue since it concerns existing properties. However, I still don’t understand why this should be an obstacle.
As a freelancer/self-employed person/independent contractor, you can have a commercial address that matches your private address and register your business there. This doesn’t automatically turn a residential property into a commercial one, not even partially. Whether you work on your laptop on the sofa or in the bathroom is not the building authority’s concern. And now the so-called office simply becomes a home office. From my perspective, this is not even clever maneuvering but completely legal. If in doubt, it might be worth spending about 100 euros for legal advice. But I would be very surprised if this were problematic. No freelancer is required to have a dedicated office. A valid mailing address is sufficient!
As a freelancer/self-employed person/independent contractor, you can have a commercial address that matches your private address and register your business there. This doesn’t automatically turn a residential property into a commercial one, not even partially. Whether you work on your laptop on the sofa or in the bathroom is not the building authority’s concern. And now the so-called office simply becomes a home office. From my perspective, this is not even clever maneuvering but completely legal. If in doubt, it might be worth spending about 100 euros for legal advice. But I would be very surprised if this were problematic. No freelancer is required to have a dedicated office. A valid mailing address is sufficient!
I have just found out that the local authority can unfortunately prohibit my activity. In a general residential area, however, the building department does not have to make exceptions, even for a "quiet" online business. Unfortunately, our municipality has excluded these exceptions in the development plan. I read this too late. The letter from the building department also points this out, stating that "since the development plan designates a general residential area, exceptions according to § 4 para. 3 of the Federal Land Utilization Ordinance are excluded."
tom_tom schrieb:
Unfortunately, our municipality has excluded these exceptions in the zoning plan.Could you please share the paragraph for us to read and learn from? Maybe someone can also help translate the technical jargon.HausiKlausi19 Feb 2025 21:30Hmm, that’s really unfortunate. I’ve just checked again, and there are apparently rulings by the Federal Administrative Court stating that the quiet (residential-compatible) use in residential areas is unproblematic and must be permitted. I am not a lawyer. If someone wanted to push the issue, they could probably argue in a legal proceeding that higher-ranking laws (and court rulings) actually override the local zoning plan. But of course, you live in the community too, so it would probably be unwise to create serious conflicts right from the start.
tom_tom schrieb:
@HausiKlausi You can only register a business there if the zoning plan allows it. I don’t know if the municipality would object right away when registering the business. But I suspect they would.
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