Published: 23/10/2023
Types of Commercial Properties
Commercial properties can be categorized into various types:
- Office Spaces: Buildings or spaces created for businesses to undertake admin work
- Retail Properties: Places to sell goods or services directly to customers.
- Industrial Properties: Warehouses, manufacturing, distribution centres for typically production and storage.
- Leisure/Hospitality Properties: Hotels, motels, bars, restaurants, gyms, spas
- Medical Facilities: Buildings for healthcare operators, such as hospitals, clinics, or medical offices.
- Mixed-Use Properties: Buildings with a combination of residential and commercial space
Use Classes
Commercial properties in the UK are categorized into different "use classes" that highlight what activities are allowed in a particular space. These classifications were updated in September 2020:Class E - Commercial, Business, and Service: This class covers various uses, including retail (excluding hot food), food and drink sales for on-site consumption, financial and professional services, indoor sports, medical services, creches, and more.
Class F.1 - Learning and Non-Residential Institutions: This class includes educational facilities, art exhibitions, museums, libraries, public halls, worship places, and law courts, but not residential use.
Class F.2 - Local Community: This class focuses on community-based uses, such as small shops selling essential goods, meeting places, outdoor sports or recreation areas, and indoor/outdoor swimming pools or skating rinks.
Class B2 - General Industrial: Suitable for industrial processes not covered by Class E. However, it excludes activities like incineration, chemical treatment, landfill, and hazardous waste.
Class B8 - Storage or Distribution: Used for storage and distribution facilities, including warehouses.
Sui Generis: This Latin term means "in a class of its own" and includes specific uses not fitting into the other classes, such as theatres, amusement arcades, fuel stations, waste disposal, nightclubs, and more.
If you wanted to change the use of a property you would need to speak with the local authority and submit a planning application.
