Unaccountability in Scotland
Research into some injustices

Home Business - On the Law etc

Introduction

This paper relates to the law, as it us understood by the author, relating to a small business - indeed what might even be termed a "micro business" -  being operated from a room in a dwelling - viz a domestic property - as defined in the Council Tax legislation. So IF you are in receipt of a domestic Council Tax bill, then you are in a dwelling, and if you are running a small business from this dwelling, then what follows, we trust, applies.

Physical Configuration

The typical configuration is based upon a house with both a Scottish Water supply and a Scottsh Water sewerage connection, though in the countryside this is likely to be a private septic tank. If the water supply is private as well, then there can be no liability.

Supply Home Industry 1

In our opinion it does not matter whether the business is based in a room in the house, or in a garage or shed.

The 2005 Water Act

There are a number of relevant laws, but the key one is the Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005. Regarding the place [viz the premises] where the business actually operates from, Section 27 defines whether or not a "premises" is "eligible" to pay water charges.

There is another question: what is the situation when the business is carried on in a room whuich is also used for domestic purposes ? An example would be using the kitchen table for some purpose or other - like "stuffing envelopes" for a marketing company.

As can be seen from the diagram above there is what may at first sight be described as a grey area. However a sensible analysis leads to the following conclusions:

  1. Only ONE bill per meter - or connection.
  2. Domestic properties are billed for Water Charges via their Council Tax.
  3. A business, to be charged separately to the residence, MUST have its own SCOTTISH WATER water supply [section 27]

What happens at present

First of all your home business must be declared to the local council, and a rateable valuation obtained. It may be that your business is so small or of such a type that it will not be considered rateable. It is probable that the business will qualify for small business rate relief in any event.

Some tips are found here:

https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates/working-at-home

As usual, there is no "yes and no", its a "maybe and maybe not".

However, you can get an assessment here: https://www.mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-calculator/#introduction

On the assumption that you are liable for commercial rates, and get relief, the real question is "Should you be paying Water Charges ?"

Prior to the 2005 Water Act which received the Royal Assent on 17th March 2005, there was a single law that applied to Britain, and the answer under the 1945 Act would almost definitely be a YES. In Scotland, the 2005 Act came into force and introduced the concept of the "Eligible Premises": in simple terms this introduced another rule to those derived above:

4. No water: No bill. No sewer: No bill [sewerage and drainage].

So it all comes down to whether the part of your home in which your business is carried out has a Scottish Water water supply. If it as shown in the diagram above, then two options come to mind:

However, one thing is certain the Revenue Protection department of Scottish Water will disagree, and the company who has your account will attempt to bully you into paying. It is a sad fact of life that they have no intention of acting fairly and reasonably.

Not surprisingly, there is nothing on Scottish Water's web site about working from home. It appears that they are still attempting to apply the 1945 Act. See here for more information: http://unaccountablescotland.org.uk/index.php/water-charges/water-charges-about-the-law/32-water-charges-definitions-cases-reviewed#the-1945-act-the-west-pennine-appeal.