Rules and regulations

The following resources and organisations can help you ensure that your creative business or practice is complying with the law.

Registering a business

Companies House

If you're thinking about setting up a Limited Company you'll need to register it with Companies House. Their website provides information on provide information on how to go about this. Companies House makes company information available to the public under the Companies Act and related legislation.

Charities Commission

Thinking of setting up a charity? This is where you do it. The Charity Commission holds all the resources you need online, to register and start running your charity. 

Premises

Business use

Does your property have the correct ‘use’ category for your business? Not sure what that is, or what the current use is? Do you want to change it? Take a look at our planning permission for business premises page, and click on the link for the use classes.

The Ethical Property Foundation  

The Ethical Property Foundation can support you to manage and negotiate the right terms for your business when securing a property. The Ethical Property Foundation offers free one to one, impartial property advice to charities, voluntary groups and not-for-profit organisations.  

Insurance

Depending upon the activity you intend to carry out in the property, you may need to consider public liability, contents and employer’s liability. A.n, The Artists Information Company provide insurance as part of their membership.  

Legal advice

LawWorks  

LawWorks supports lawyers to volunteer their professional skills to assist individuals and community groups who cannot afford to pay for legal help and who are unable to access legal aid or other forms of financial assistance.  

Lawyers Volunteering for the Arts  

Lawyers Volunteering for the Arts (LVFA) is a pro bono legal project set up in 2012 by a group of London law firms who wanted to offer pro bono legal support to the arts community. LVFA aims to encourage solicitors to provide free legal advice to low income and not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations or community groups.

LVFA are looking to work with arts organisations that would otherwise not be in a position to afford legal advice and might have suitable issues or projects that would benefit from free advice from a qualified solicitor.

"We are interested in helping organisations active in any aspect of the cultural sector, including abstract, conceptual and performance art, visual arts, and performance arts such as music, dance and theatre." 

Page last updated: 19 October 2022