Is it legal to have a business in your townhouse garage fixing cars?

Question

I am an owner in a townhome complex. One of the nieghbors has had up to 3 cars around his garage taking up space of the other owners. They have been seen installing radios or fixing them till 9pm. Other neighbors are complaining and have asked them to stop. They say it is their right. Can anyone tell me if there is anything legally we can do to get them to mover their business? Or is it even legal? If there is a website I can review I would love to know it. Thanks

Answer 1

Since we don't know where you live, we cannot direct you to a website. I suggest calling your town's city hall or zoning commission. They will be able to tell you what the rules are and what you should do. Generally speaking, almost every town in the U.S. has zoning laws that prohibit people from having businesses in residential areas. In fact, in order to get a business license, this neighbor would have had to give the business address, and it would have been denied on zoning grounds. This means that your neighbor probably doesn't have a business license either.

With all this understood, I suggest you try to do whatever you do as anonymously as possible. Why? Because if you challenge this neighbor, he (I'll assume it's a "he") will be very angry with you and may retaliate in some way. That, and you will probably have to continue living with him also, so try to keep the peace.

Finally, doesn't your homeowner's association have any rules about this sort of thing? Even a blanket rule against illegal activities would be sufficient here, because having an illegally zoned, unlicensed business is illegal, even if it's not a meth lab.

Good luck with this.

Answer 2

It depends on your state and local laws. State and local laws regulate the relationship between a tenant and a landlord under a residential lease. But I think most areas allow for the landlord to seek eviction if the property is being used for commercial purposes while under a residential lease.



I must apologize. I misread and assumed that the asker meant that she owns the complex and rents to her neighbors. My mistake. But, since I'm already on the subject, I'll continue to point a few things out in addition to what I said above:

Having a business license is just that- a business license. It doesn't give you permission to operate your business from home if the state or local laws stipulate that tenants are not to do so under a residential lease. In other words, a business license (or zoning laws) does NOT supersede the laws governing the landlord\tenant relationship. If someone either has a nice landlord who doesn't care or just hasn't been caught yet then good for him/her, but those two factors have nothing to do with what the law says.

Now that I got that out of my system, I'll give a response that answers the question-

Whether or not you need a business license or permit depends upon the type of business you engage in, the location of your business, federal and state laws, and local laws and ordinances. The situation that you've described consists of (A) a type of business which requires a state license (and, in all probability, a local business license as well) and (B) a residential business.

Zoning laws on residential businesses vary considerably among localities. Contrary to what some may think, there are no "across the board" rules that apply to every locality. Some zoning ordinances prohibit all residential businesses. On the other hand, it may depend on the nature of the business, whether or not you have any employees, hours of operation, whether or not the operation is hidden from public scrutiny, and so on.

Business activities are generally highly regulated by the government. Check with your local government, as many local governments have information centers which function solely to educate and advise with regards to local business and zoning ordinances.
Also check with the agency in your state that governs the operations and requirements of businesses licensed in your state.

One simple first step that you could take in trying to resolve this issue is to find out if there are any ordinances in your locality which address disturbing the peace, noise, and other such matters. Regular reports to the police may go a long way in getting your rude neighbors to calm down.

Someone else mentioned an HOA, which is definitely one way to go if you do have an HOA. But if you don't then you have no other choice but to seek help on the state or local level.

A few questions- Are all of the residents home owners? Or do some of them rent? If some are renters, find out if the rude neighbors are among those who rent. If they are indeed renters then my first answer (regarding rental laws) applies. If this is the case then you could report their actions to their landlord.

Hope everything works out. I'll add more if I think of anything else.

Again, I apologize for the misunderstanding.

Answer 3

If you have a townhome that's part of a condo association then you are covered by CC&R's. If it's a reasonably newer association then there probably is a restriction that prohibits operating a business in any of the units. The only way you can find out is to read through them or ask the property manager.

Answer 4

Businesses are regulated at the city, county and state level. Where a business can be located is normally regulated by city or county zoning laws.

That being said, in most places you can operate a business from your home if you meet certain conditions.

On the other hand, check the rules and covenants for your townhouses to see if he is in violation of those.

Answer 5

If you live in a townhouse that has a community board - then your board may have rules against working on cars. -- I got a $50 fine for changing my oil in my community. If that's the rules, you can live with 'em, move somewhere with less rules, or spend a lot of time & energy trying to change the rules.

Answer 6

you can go on the Internet and look to see what is and isn't legal when running a business you could start by typing in laws to running a business out of your home just play around you will find something

Answer 7

It's legal if you have a business license. However, each city has their own rules and regulations. Certain areas in certain cities do not allow such businesses in a residential area. Others allow it, but they are limited to a few cars.

Answer 8

it is legal if you have a business permit my family runs a dog kennel in a 'residential' area and we have a permit. We get lots of business. No cops arresting us...

Answer 9

It depends on local laws. It can be illegal to operate a business from home. Again its all local, VERY local, city to city.

Answer 10

no it isnt legal to have a business in a residential area