Starting a home-based business

Entrepreneurship is also important for social empowerment and economic independence. Apeldoorn offers a favourable environment for start-up entrepreneurs.

There are three areas in which Apeldoorn City Council is active in supporting first-time buyers:

• Providing business premises / flexible rules for “working from home”
• Social security schemes
• Providing information

In all areas, this involves both developing policy and implementing concrete measures.

Providing business premises / flexible rules for “working from home”

Due to various social and economic developments, the need to work from home or nearby has increased in recent years. Economic activities often start in the home or in a hobby room. The municipality of Apeldoorn has been receiving an increasing number of enquiries on this subject.

The basic principle is that professional and commercial activities are permitted in a dwelling and/or outbuilding, provided that they do not adversely affect the residential function or the living environment and/or disrupt the existing level of amenities.

Zoning plan regulations often include rules governing professional and commercial activities carried out from home. You can enquire about the rules that apply to your situation at the Apeldoorn municipal environmental services desk.

In local development plans that do not contain provisions regarding the practice of a profession from home, the local authority may, pursuant to Article 3(23) of the Spatial Planning Act (Wro) and subject to the conditions set out below, grant an exemption from the applicable zoning plan regulations. A distinction must be made between the liberal professions, practising a profession from home and non-public-facing commercial activities carried out from home.

Liberal professions

Liberal professions fall within the “residential” zoning category, provided that the “liberal profession” is practised from the premises in which the applicant resides. A characteristic of these professions is a close integration between living and working. The building regulations included in the “residential” zoning also apply to construction for the purposes of a “liberal profession”. Traditional liberal professions, such as a notary, a general practitioner, a dentist, an estate agent, an accountant and others, are always permitted within this zoning category, provided that the residential function remains largely (at least 60% of the floor area) and the professional use is limited to a floor area of no more than 50 m².

No planning exemption is therefore required to practise a “liberal profession” in a dwelling (including outbuildings) designated for residential or similar use.

Practising one’s profession from home

In this context, the local authority defines ‘practising a profession from home’ as:

“A service-based profession in the administrative, legal, medical, therapeutic, artistic or technical fields, or activities equivalent thereto, other than retail trade, which is carried out in a dwelling (including outbuildings), whereby the dwelling retains its residential function to a predominant extent and which has a spatial appearance or effect consistent with that residential function.”

Practising a profession from home is permitted under the following conditions if:

1. this applies to a maximum of 40% of the floor area of the dwelling (all rooms – excluding outbuildings – which comply with the Building and Living Environment Decree in terms of height) and (without prejudice to the provisions of the Building and Living Environment Decree) 100% of the floor area of the outbuildings, with a combined maximum of 50 m² in urban areas and 75 m² in non-urban areas per plot, provided that:
2. its use does not have any adverse effects on the living environment;
3. its use does not adversely affect the normal flow of traffic and does not lead to an undesirable increase in parking demand;
4. no retail trade takes place;
5. the activities do not cause any lasting disruption to the existing distribution facilities or result in a serious disruption to the supply structure;
6. the resident practises that profession.

Non-public-facing business activities carried out from home

The mayor and aldermen may, pursuant to Article 3(23) of the Wro, grant an exemption for the use of dwellings and/or outbuildings for the purpose of carrying out non-public-facing, commercial activities from home that are listed in the “List of permitted home-based business activities”, or businesses that are comparable in nature and impact. For example, the local authority regards the use of a dwelling for a “bed and breakfast” service, offered as a tourist product, as a non-public-facing activity that falls within the permitted commercial use from home. A condition for granting an exemption under Article 3(23) of the Spatial Planning Act (Wro) is that the property must not have the appearance of a catering establishment. Furthermore, the use must be restricted to the dwelling itself, and the exemption does not apply to the use of an outbuilding or any other separate space.

The conditions set out above in points 1 to 6 apply to the granting of such an exemption

List of permitted business activities carried out from home

(based on the publication ‘Businesses and Environmental Zoning’, 1999 edition, published by the Association of Dutch Municipalities)

SBI	DESCRIPTION	CATEGORY
221	Publishing houses (firms)	1
2223	Graphic design	1
223	Reproduction companies featured in the media	1
362	Manufacture of jewellery and similar items.	1
527	Repairs for private individuals (excluding cars and motorbikes)	1
633	Travel agencies	1
66	Insurance company/branch	1
70	Property letting and sales	1
72	Computer service and information technology agencies, etc.	1
732	Social sciences and humanities research	1
74	Other business services: offices	1
9302	Beautician – by appointment only	1
9305	Personal services not mentioned elsewhere	1

Combined living and working

As part of its plans for the development of new building sites, the local authority is setting aside plots for mixed-use residential and commercial development.

In the residential area of the Zuidbroek neighbourhood, homes are being built that offer the option of working from home. On the Apeldoorn Noord II business park, plots are available with the option of a commercial premises with staff accommodation. This also applies to the Stadhoudersmolen business park, which is currently under development.

In Apeldoorn, the private sector offers what are known as multi-tenant business centres: office spaces available on flexible lease terms, tailored to your needs, with the option to utilise additional support facilities. These include services such as telephone answering, meeting rooms, administrative support and reception services.

Social security schemes

Start-up entrepreneurs who, due to (imminent) unemployment, require financial support, guidance and advice may, subject to certain conditions, apply under the national scheme set out in the 2004 Decree on Social Assistance for the Self-Employed (Bbz 2004).

For residents of the municipality of Apeldoorn and a number of neighbouring municipalities, the Apeldoorn Municipal Self-Employed Team is responsible for implementing the Bbz 2004.

Find out more about the scheme, the options and the conditions.

Providing information

The local authority has a wealth of in-house expertise that may be of interest to (start-up) entrepreneurs. If you have any questions regarding, for example, planning permission (Wabo), working from home or local planning regulations (such as ‘Can I run this business at this location?’), please contact the council. For sector-specific enquiries, please contact the Neighbourhood & Business team. The account managers specialise in various sectors.

When it comes to specialist knowledge, the account managers will refer companies to the Het Gros department or organisations such as the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency), the IMK (Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), the Tax and Customs Administration and, of course, the Chamber of Commerce.