How to start a veterinary establishment in Ukraine? Legal Advice

The start of the veterinary business in Ukraine raises many questions for those who are going to be engaged in the relevant activities.

We have been providing legal support and assistance in obtaining a Veterinary Medicine License for many years. In this publication we will elaborate on the most frequent questions asked by our Clients when starting a veterinary clinic. Answers to these questions will help you avoid unwanted situations and understand how to start a veterinary business.

Related article: Personnel Requirements To Veterinary Establishments 

Why is it important to properly choose the premises for the veterinary establishment from the very beginning?

The right choice of premises will not only provide you with further comfortable working conditions, but will also help with legal protection of veterinary activities. Consider the main risk situations that may arise when choosing premises for the veterinary establishment.

Short renting. We encountered the situations when our Clients rented the premises for a year or two. But then the landlord asked them to vacate the premises instead of renewing the lease agreement.

The problem is not only that you invest money to properly design the premises, but that the address of the premises is also indicated in the licence register. Thus, if you change the business place, you should notify the licensing authority.

It is therefore better to rent the premises on a long-term basis and to certify the lease/sublease agreement by a notary. The agreement should also specify penalties for the landlord in case of early termination of the agreement.

Dishonest landlord. Before entering into a lease agreement, you should check whether the landlord really owns the premises and, in the case of a sublease, whether the tenant (“subleaseholder”) has the right to sublease the premises.

There are many cases where a potential landlord has inherited the property but has not fully registered the rights to it. Then it may turn out that a person is not the only heir, he/she is not entitled to lease the premises, and as a result the lease agreement is deemed invalid. Thus, you will need to search for another premises and conclude a new lease agreement.

We offer our Clients legal services of pre-screening of the landlord’s documents to ensure unhindered rental of the desired premises.

The space planning does not meet the requirements of the licensing regulations. The fact is that the licensing regulations contain separate requirements for each type of veterinary establishments. In particular, there is a list of mandatory rooms and areas. License applicants often do not study the requirements beforehand, and rent a room, which, for example, has only one hall or room and a utility room.

In this case, such a room has to be redesigned, but not all landlords allow to redesign their premises.

You can find out what the premises of the veterinary establishments should look like and what rooms they should have, either in the licencing regulations or from our specialists at the consultation.

What form of business is better to choose when obtaining a Veterinary Medicine License: Individual Entrepreneurship or LLC?

In fact, it makes no difference for the purpose of obtaining the license. The only point is that an individual entrepreneur shall have a veterinary education to obtain the Veterinary Medicine License.

Otherwise, a person without veterinary education wishing to set up a veterinary establishment can create a legal entity, hire a worker with veterinary education and only then obtain the license.

Related article: Requirements For The Area Of Veterinary Establishments

What problems one can face when obtaining the license?

Most often, difficulties arise at the preparatory stage: from choosing the room and its design to filling out the information for obtaining the license.

If everything was properly done at the preparatory stage, the procedure for obtaining the license does not require involvement of the licensee: the licensing authority reviews the documents submitted, and following the examination, it takes the appropriate decision and publishes it on its website.

Related article: Additional Place Of Veterinary Business

How to minimize legal risks in veterinary practice?

Veterinarians have seen more than one case of people bringing their animals for treatment and then not coming back for them. Sometimes people even claim that their pets start feeling even worse, not to mention disputes arising from the pet’s death. It is therefore advisable to enter into Veterinary Services Agreements with Clients.

In addition, we must admit that any veterinarian can make mistakes at least once. Therefore, it is recommended that veterinary workers, especially individual entrepreneurs, who personally carry out their activities, obtain professional liability insurance. This is the kind of insurance where the insurance company reimburse the claimed amount, if the policyholder’s guilt and the need to pay compensation is proved.

If you want to be sure that the start of the veterinary business will be simple and without unnecessary delays, don’t hesitate to call us. We can help you choose the premises, prepare documents and provide advice on how to run your business safely.