Using a residential property as a Business address

It depends entirely on the business. I provide development services to other companies. The OPs friend might do the same, or they might cut grass, we've no idea. If they run a business and have other businesses as customers then there is zero risk of anyone turning up at the address.

If he were just an employee working from home then he wouldn't have a "registered address", that's a company thing, so MLFC was probably using the wrong term or getting the wrong end of the stick.

 

(Everything you say is correct of course).

You don't understand, I will explain again. The OP said "registered address" which, as you know, you have if you are a limited company but not as a sole trader or as an employee of a company that does not belong to you.

You will still need to disclose a trading address as a sole trader but as far as I am aware there is no registration for sole traders. Sole traders are self employed, owner directors are employees of their own limited company. This is the bit I think you are missing. Being an employee and registered address fits with the op talking about their friend running their own business from home.

If trading business to business they are unlikely just to turn up but as others have mentioned, Joe public may do if dealing direct with them.

We could all be barking up the wrong tree if the OP has phrased the first post wrong though.

We have been trading over seven years and none of our customers have visited us here. We do trade business to business, large corporates and SMEs. They have been invited to visit our offices to audit our documents but they haven't felt it necessary. The only visitors we have had are ISO 9001 auditors for the certification and surveillance audits.

---------- Post added 25-07-2016 at 09:08 ----------

No, I understand that the OP is talking about the owner of the business. What I think, in case I didn't explain it fully, is that from a Landlord's point of view I don't think there's a deal of difference between an employee working at home and a business owner working from home provided the registered address is somewhere else. Yes, there will be extra post in the company name but I don't think that's any of the landlord's business.

There might be hardly any post, depending on what they do for a business. We are virtually paperless (via post) when it comes to quotes and invoices. It almost all comes via email and we print it off and file it so we have it readily available should HMRC should ever wish to view it.

Agreed but I think we've moved on from answering the initial question to recommending registering the company to a different address and then operating from the house (the business owner's house not the OPs)

You don't understand, I will explain again. The OP said "registered address" which, as you know, you have if you are a limited company but not as a sole trader or as an employee of a company that does not belong to you.

 

You will still need to disclose a trading address as a sole trader but as far as I am aware there is no registration for sole traders. Sole traders are self employed, owner directors are employees of their own limited company. This is the bit I think you are missing. Being an employee and registered address fits with the op talking about their friend running their own business from home.

No, I'm not. I am an employee of my own ltd company, I understand it perfectly.

And for 9 years next month it's been registered at my home. I've never had a customer turn up there.

I get a small amount of post, mostly from HMRC, the occasional junk mail for insurance or loans.

 

If trading business to business they are unlikely just to turn up but as others have mentioned, Joe public may do if dealing direct with them.

 

We could all be barking up the wrong tree if the OP has phrased the first post wrong though.

 

You are right Chez - I expect it to be business to business trading, so I don't foresee any customers turning up at the doorstep.

---------- Post added 26-07-2016 at 20:55 ----------

 

To OP: I take it that this friend has access to the internet? Really they should be doing this research, why not suggest they create account on SF, it would easier than going back and forth?

I was actually doing this more to find out my "exposure" and the risk involved (if any) in the situation, after my friend sought my help.