Try Avoiding These for Your Next Commercial Renovation (I)

Starting a business is an enormous investment for many individuals, which means that entrepreneurs want to avoid as much risk as possible in order to make more profits. From product placements and operation strategies, to branding and target markets, there are a lot of factors that go towards the success of a brand.

Perhaps, every brand is unique; it is often rare to copy a brand’s success completely, but there are definitely ways to minimize some of the obstacles that many brands face. For example, hire a professional commercial renovation team with rich experience who is trustworthy will be a good choice for you to establish your brand’s commercial space.

In the previous article, JYC has introduced the five renovation requirements for entrepreneurs who are considering opening a business and the importance of applying for government permits. Keeping this basic knowledge in mind, we will further discuss some of the obstacles and issues that brands tend to face during their renovation process and how can these be avoided.

About Zoning

Zoning may be a relatively new concept to many “foreigners” renting commercial spaces, but it is the basis for land development and planning in Canada. Every individual commercial property has been zoned by the government for different commercial uses. For example, some storefronts are not allowed to operate as dry cleaners, or some locations can only have retail stores, not restaurants, etc.

Because zoning is so important, before signing a lease for a commercial space, it is crucial for the tenant to confirm that their business aligns with the legal use of that commercial space. If you find out after signing the contract that the location you rented is not going to be used for the intended outcome, additional costs will be added.

1. If the location you want to rent aligns with your business.

For example, if you want to use the store to open a restaurant and the address was once used as a restaurant, or if you want to rent a property for an office and someone else used to rent it for an office, these “nature of business” remains the same.

If this is the case, congratulations! This is the best-case scenario, which means you don’t have to deal with the government authorities on the matter of zoning. Nonetheless, the property you want to rent may need to be renovated for rigid reasons, such as the interior layout is too old, does not meet the latest building regulations, or for flexible reasons related to infrastructure, such as the need for additional toilets, total electricity supply, etc. Then it will be necessary to apply for governmental permits for such renovations.

For example, if the interior does not have barrier-free facilities (access, toilets, etc.) or safety exit lights, it does not comply with existing government building regulations and must be updated to comply with the regulations.

2. If the location you want to rent DOES NOT aligns with your business.

For example, if you want to use the location to open a restaurant, but the government’s plan for the store does not include food and beverage, or if you want to use the location that has been used as a warehouse to open a car repair shop, which has a different “nature of business.” As well as, if you want to use a newly built property (roughcast house) to open your business.

The case here would be a little bit more complicated. Don’t stress; this doesn’t mean that you can’t open up your business at this location for sure.

If you are not 100% sure about whether or not the location you want to rent falls under this category, you can double-check with the municipal building department before signing the lease. For example, if you want to rent a store located in downtown Toronto, you will need to check with the [City of Toronto] (https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/planning-development/zoning-by-law-preliminary-zoning-reviews/) to confirm.

If the government’s zoning plan for the location includes the type of business you want to operate, then we can skip back to the previous section and move on to the next step. On the other hand, if it does not, but you do not want to give up operating legally in this location, you need to consider applying for a zoning change for the location.

However, when it comes to applying for a zoning change, the result is not guaranteed. As a result, it is crucial to make decisions only after detailed evaluations have been made.