Adding a commercial property
Tell Abodient a property is commercial when you add it, and answer the few questions that set its compliance.
When you add a property, after the address Abodient asks whether it is Residential or Commercial. Choose Commercial for a shop, café, office, industrial unit or other business premises, and a few more questions follow.
The commercial questions above decide what Abodient sets up for the property:
- What it is used for — shop, café or restaurant, office, industrial or storage, pub / takeaway / betting shop, or other.
- Do you charge VAT on the rent? — if you have opted to tax, rent demands show + VAT.
- Was the building built before 2000? — if so, an asbestos survey becomes a duty.
- Is there a lift? — if so, six-monthly LOLER examinations become a duty.
- Do you keep gas appliances in it? — if so, gas servicing becomes a duty.
You get the same choice in the onboarding wizard when you first set up your account.
What changes for a commercial property
Once a property is commercial, its page works differently from a residential one: it has a Lease tab instead of Tenancy, a different set of compliance duties, and rent handled by lease cadence rather than a monthly schedule. The rest of this section covers each.