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15 J. Prop. Plan. & Env't L. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/jppel15 and id is 1 raw text is: The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9407.htm Homes and home working: a property law perspective Michael W. Poulsom Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK Abstract Purpose - This purpose of this paper is to examine whether disciplines outside law demonstrate consensus on the attributes of home, whether, to the extent that there is consensus, property law supports those attributes, whether those attributes can be reconciled with working from home, and how far property law is able to address uncertainty regarding the regulation of working from home. Design/methodology/approach - This paper identifies conceptions of home from non-law disciplines. It examines the extent to which property law in England and Wales supports or challenges those conceptions. It examines the extent to which working in homes disrupts or distorts those conceptions. It assesses the extent to which property law engages with that disruption. Findings - A lack of clarity in how home is defined and perceived in non-law disciplines, and a tendency in those disciplines to produce static and decontextualized notions of home is reflected in inconsistent property law approaches to protection of important home attributes. Recognition by property law of the prevalence of home working is relatively undeveloped. An under-appreciation of context dominates both cross-disciplinary perceptions of home, and the support which property law provides to those perceptions. Research limitations/implications - This paper focuses on conceptions of home drawn from disparate disciplines and seeks to find consensus in a diverse field. It concentrates on the regulation by covenants of the use of homes for non-domestic purposes in England and Wales. Practical implications - Suggested alterations to property law and practice, and to the imposition and construction of covenants against business use, might better reflect the prevalence of working from home and clarify the circumstances in which homes can properly be used for work purposes. Social implications - This paper identifies that in its inconsistent recognition of home attributes in general, and in the lack of established principles for regulating the use of homes for business purposes in particular, property law offers insufficient certainty to occupiers wishing either to work at home, or to resist doing so. It identifies that a broader cross-disciplinary investigation into the inter-relationship between living spaces and working spaces would be beneficial. Originality/value - The originality of this paper lies in its examination from a property law perspective of established cross-disciplinary conceptions of home in the context of the recent growth of working in homes. Keywords Homes, Working from home, Covenants, Business use, Enforcement, Business Paper type Research paper Introduction Home defies easy definition. Practically, home might be viewed as a location for meeting the personal needs of everyday life. Emotionally, home might be perceived as the location of a sense of belonging, where people can foster personal relationships, and care for themselves and others. The close association of home with domestic, as opposed to commercial, environments must now engage with the widespread use of homes for non-domestic purposes. In April 2020, 46% of employed people in the UK performed some, or all, of their employment duties in their homes. Of those, 86%, equating to approximately 12 million people, did so because of the COVID-19 pandemic (Office for National Statistics, 2020). A significant level of home working is likely to continue [1]. Homes and home working 1 Received 21 June 2022 Revised 15 September 2022 7 November 2022 17 November 2022 Accepted 17 November 2022 Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Ia Vol.15 No. 1,2023 pp. 1-19 ŠEmerald PublishingLimited 2514-9407 DOI 10.1108/JPPEL06-20220019