Recommendation 61

Whether a business can find a space to rent, and at a suitable price, dictates its presence on the high street. Since the introduction of Use Class E (explained in more detail in paragraph 77), landlords have had a wider range of options for whom they rent to, and it has opened competition between different types of high street use. 120 Permitted development rights for Use Class E properties also present landlords with the opportunity to convert high street units into residential properties more easily than was previously possible. We heard this may be preferable for landlords faced with paying business rates on an empty property or where a residential property yields greater returns than a business let. 121