I just checked the rents in my area and I could rent a large commercial space for only $1k when absolutely tiny studios here are $1.5k minimum. I checked the building has 24hr access and I will be asking if it has a water hookup. Is it too risky?
if anyone bothers you about it, tell them you're always at the office so you can grind 25/7. absolutely shame them for not doing the same
you'll get caught by someone eventually and commercial leases don't have landlord/tenant law protections, meager as they are, so be prepared to move at a moment's notice if discovered. But you could get away with it for years if you're lucky and careful. Worth considering whether or not its really worth the extra space/savings to live like that, sneaking around with the sword of damocles hanging over your head (eviction), and having to disguise your home as an office or workshop or whatever
and even if the landlord doesnt catch on or doesn't care you may get found out by the building inspector. I know a lot of "artist studios" that people were living in for years at a time go shut down that way near me.
Be real surprised if the hallways/common areas arent surveilled. Likely to lead to trouble when it comes time to bring in the china hutch and the bedding.
Could maybe have things packaged up like they were sent in the mail and carry them in? That doesn't help for a lot of existing furniture, but it could get clothes, toiletries, bedding, a mattress, and some storage through? And chests of drawers might not necessarily look weird getting moved into an office.
Idk, I think it could work?
Biggest risk is like fire inspector, city inspector or someone coming in and seeing residential use in a commercial building and an eviction following suit.
Might get away with an "artist studio" like user above aaidwith a work space in one corner and maybe a futon, basics in one corner and minimum appliances (mini fridge, microwave, kettle) it can't look permanent, which is hard.
I think if it had break room vibes and were kept spotlessly clean all the time, that could build some plausible deniability maybe? Super ultra tidy doesn't look lived in.
yeah this. You're totally allowed to have a kitchen in your office (though if it isn't already equipped for one you probably won't be hauling in nice appliances, no sense in building anything decent when you can get kicked out at any time), and you can probably get away with "hmm this seems like someone is just living here" with inspectors as long as there's no smoking gun (having a bed, mainly) and its not just super blatantly obvious. Even being a little messy can probably be gotten away with but it would raise less suspicion if cleaner (especially the more living oriented parts)
Honestly having a lot of the area dedicated to obvious desk/work space would cover a lot of other red flags. if you have a 3d printer and a computer setup, and any other hobby workspace you might want all in there it's going to draw attention away from a break room style kitchen or a futon area that looks a little too lived-in.
It's entirely doable. I mean, there have been people who have lived inside of active commercial offices, pretending to be workers there and just walking around all day acting like they're busy. So living in an empty office is definitely doable. But if anybody figures out that's what's going on you'll get kicked out.
You can definitely get away with it for years. All mentioned concerns are valid.
When you apply for commercial space, don’t they want your company’s tax ID and a copy of your business plan? And aren’t they often five-or-more year leases?
NOLO Press: The Commercial Lease: What You Should Know
I've toured commercial (non retail) spaces and never been asked about this, and we made it clear we were just hobbyists looking to rent a workspace basically. We never did get to the point of signing a lease but the agents wouldn't have wasted time with us if that were the case I don't think. For bigger spaces and more formal enterprises I'm sure things are different
Yeah they only asked for a bank statement. It's a 2 year minimum lease tho so idk.
I'm assuming they can't make you keep paying for the space if they've kicked you out for living in it lmao
But who knows
