Shop Change of Use

[gainsay]

Hi Folks,
I have an empty shop . Someone privately has expressed an interest in in opening a dog grooming parlour for which (I believe) a change of use to sui generis would be required. At present it is A1.
My question is who should pay for and then apply for planning permission? Should rent be paid on an empty premises while the application is in?
Any help would appreciated.
Thanks

[Lawcruncher]

The usual way to deal with this is to enter into an agreement for lease completion of which is conditional on the required planning permission being obtained within an agreed period. The terms will be subject to negotiation, but generally it will be the tenant who (under an obligation to the landlord) applies for permission at his own expense. Such a contract would not usually require the tenant to pay rent until the lease begins as he cannot use the premises until the permission has been obtained.

[Section20z]

In England class A was abolished in September 2020 and replaced by Class E.
A dog grooming parlour would not require change of use

[gainsay]

Lawcruncher,

Thanks so much for your reply.

[gainsay]

Section20z,

Thank you for your response.
Through internet searches i too have come to the conclusion that a pet grooming parlour would indeed fall under the new Class E.
Indeed the Planning Inspectorate at an appeal hearing in 2014 stated that (at the time ) a dog grooming parlour was B1 which now falls under E I believe. That seems pretty definitive to me.
What has thrown me a little however is that a number of search results have stated that it would fall under sui generis.

[Lawcruncher]

I am not surprised you are confused. They keep tinkering with the uses classes. It is difficult to keep up.

[Another Fine Mess]

I found that when I was a tenant of Business Premises that with both of my leases (different Local Authorities) that they insisted that I pay them for their Legal Fees for the creation of the leases, And having also been a landlord of shops I would do the following if you dont mind my suggestion.
1. First I would contact a firm of Estate Agents who specialise in dealing with Commercial Properties and ask them what the going rate would be if you rented the shop out.
2.. I would ask a Chartered Town Planner about how much they would charge to submit a Planning Application to change the use class to a Dog Grooming Parlour, (I found that they would give advice free)
£ I would get a Solicitor who deals with Commercial Leases. You may find that they would suggest that the lease is outside the 1954 Landlord & Tenant Act as if you granted a 10 year lease and at the end of the lease the tenant would have to go, or as Dog Grooming Parlours can be very profitable, if you granted a new lease it would have to be on your terms and not linked to the previous rent.
After the above you then ask your proposed tenant for a contribution towards the cost of preparing the lease, the Planning Application etc.
Good Luck.

[BlindingLights82]

Dog Groomers fall under Sui Generis within our local council (this was even in 2021 after the use class changes). I would suggest contacting your local planning authority and get something in writing from them. If they say it's a Sui Generis then absolutely get planning permission before you allow it to open. Dog Groomers have the potential to cause massive noise nuisance (barking and yelping) if the business owner isn't particularly considerate. If this happens and you haven't got the correct use class, then you've not a leg to stand on if the council get involved with the noise complaints.

This is all from experience!