Mixed-use residential property? Get legal advice!

Questioner

Good morning, We are looking for a residential property and have found a suitable property. However, it concerns a combined residential/retail property and the zoning plan states that the property has a mixed destination. The article on the rules of use includes the following: Living is only permitted on the floor(s); this does not apply to situations where, on the time of inspection of the draft of this plan, already on the ground floor residential function was present: living is permitted on the ground floor; In the past, the residents' business was located on the ground floor, but due to lack of space, they moved their business activities. That was more than 5 years ago, certainly 2 years before the current zoning plan was made public. Since then, it has been used and made suitable for habitation and family has also lived there temporarily. My question now is whether the municipality can demand that the ground floor is not used as living space, if we explicitly include in the purchase contract that the ground floor has had this function for a long time. It seems to me that we can appeal to the previously mentioned article. I am very curious. Thanks in advance for your response. Greetings

Lawyer

For now, it seems clear that living is permitted on the basis of the measure you mention, but you should check whether this regulation only applies to current residents and/or whether this right is transferable. Including in a purchase agreement that the ground floor apartment has been lived in is not sufficient if this right has only been created personally. For the answer to that question, you can best contact the municipality.