Relating to the authority of a municipality to regulate a home-based business.

Contracts

• Residential Leases: Landlords can no longer rely on city zoning to prohibit business activity. Lease templates must be amended to explicitly define permitted "no-impact" business uses or strictly prohibit them. Indemnification clauses must be updated to protect owners from commercial liability on residential property.
• HOA Covenants: HOAs must review Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). If an HOA intends to ban home businesses, it must enforce existing covenants vigorously, as city code enforcement will no longer act as a backstop.

Hiring/Training

• Property Management Staff: Train leasing agents and property managers that "working from home" is no longer a presumptive zoning violation. Enforcement must be based on lease terms (contract breach), not municipal code.
• Code Enforcement Officers: Municipal staff must be retrained to stop issuing citations for unpermitted home businesses unless there is a specific health, safety, or nuisance violation.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Proof of "No-Impact": Businesses must maintain an Occupancy Log proving that the number of on-site employees and clients does not exceed the municipal occupancy limit for the dwelling.
• Visual Audits: Maintain dated photographic evidence of the property exterior to prove no business activity (signage, inventory, heavy equipment) is visible from the street, providing a defense against nuisance complaints.

Fees & Costs

• Fee Elimination: Businesses should stop paying municipal "Home Occupation Permit" fees immediately.
• Insurance Costs: Homeowners' insurance policies typically exclude business liability. Business owners must purchase a Commercial General Liability rider or a Business Owners Policy (BOP). Landlords should require proof of this coverage.