Yahoo Finance 
Setting up a home business: Part 1 HDB
Working from home is not just limited to freelance, computer-reliant jobs. These days, integrating working and living space is common. Heres what you need to know if you want to run a business from your HDB flat.
Who: So long as you are the owner, tenant, approved sub-tenant or authorised occupier of the flat and are above 18-years-old, you can apply under the HDBs Home Office Scheme. While there is no limit on the number of employees the business can have, a maximum of two non-residents are allowed to work in the flat as employees, directors, shareholders or partners.
What: Accounting, architecture, real estate and insurance are some examples of permitted home businesses. Also permitted in HDB flats are private tutoring for a maximum of three students per lesson, baking on a small-scale to sell to personal friends, sewing or tailoring, one resident rendering beauty services to friends, and piecemeal factory work on a work-rate basis (the last three to supplement household income).
You cannot use your flat as a full-scale bakery or eatery, goods manufacturing or processing venue, or venue for seminars or funeral services. However, if your business falls under the non-permissible category, you can still use your flat as an administrative office, with no client or customer visits.
How: Once you have determined that your home business is permitted, the next step is to register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), which you can do online. If your home business is approved, take note of several important rules to follow: your flat must remain primarily a place of residence, with no business activities conducted outside it. Your business cannot generate environmental or noise pollution, attract extraneous traffic (human or vehicular) to your neighbourhood, or involve advertisements or posters, door-to-door visits, or the sale of physical goods.
Your business must also adhere to the Fire Safety and Shelter Departments (FSSD) fire safety regulations, meaning one 2 kg ABC Dry Chemical Powder fire extinguisher and one single-station smoke detector must be installed in the office area.
 | |||
 | This article was first published in the print version The PropertyGuru News & Views. Download PDF of full print issues or read more stories now! | ||
More from PropertyGuru:
Beautify your home office: 4 ways to level up your productivity
Housing highlights
Hope for the future
Mortgage insurance 101
Phnom Penh: Dawn of a new era
