Getting my head round moving house & primary school admissions

[claribelou]

I'm getting myself in a bit of a pickle about timings of moving house & primary school admissions and hoping some of you with a clearer head on your shoulders may be able to help me!

We're looking to move house - starting process now of looking. We're in a fortunate position in that I inherited a bit of money so we're going to keep our flat and let it out, and buy a house.

We're looking at houses now (started last weekend) but are mindful that in Jan 2015 we'll be applying for a primary school place for dd. So although we're not moving FOR a school catchment (main reason for move is to try and get a little garden), it makes sense to check school areas when deciding on properties.

What's confusing me though is that in all likelihood the timings may be tight i.e. we may not be living in the new house by Jan, even if we find something in the next couple of months. But we'd not want to apply to schools near our flat as then when we do move we'd be in the wrong school for where we eventually live.

So I guess the questions in my head are:

1. Do you have to have been living in a property for a certain amount of time to put it down as your address on school application forms?
   
2. If our dates dont work in time for Jan and we decide to move out of flat, rent near new property, then move, would that be ok? Do schools check that you stay in a certain address for a period of time after school application date?
   
   You can probably tell by how clueless I sound, that I promise we're not classic alpha family trying to play the system, more like it people who have timed it wrong (due to sickly pregnancy coming at bad times! - otherwise we were going to start looking a year ago!) and need to work out how to make the best of the fact that our wish to move comes annoyingly close to school application time...
   
   Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!

[TheFairiesAreBack]

I am sure you can put in a late application but that would mean that there may not be spaces left.

[Spindelina]

Some things I believe to be true...

• If you are living in your new (owned) house on 15th Jan, you can use that address even if you moved that day.
  

• If you move after the allocation day (April), then you will apply from your old address. You will need to make a new (late) application after you move.
  

• If you move between those two dates, I think it depends on the LA. Some have a 'late with good reason' process so you can resubmit an application after 15th Jan and it still be treated on time. But there will still be a cut off.
  

• If you move into a rented flat, you risk the LA accusing you of cheating. If the schools you are applying for are hundreds of miles from the flat you own, it would be hard to imagine that you intend to go back to live there once you've got your place. But if it's only half an hour away, you might have a problem. Again, the amount of time spent living in properties doesn't matter - it's all about intent and whether the rented flat is deemed to be your permanent address on 15th Jan.

[Toohotforfishandchips]

You can only apply from an address you can prove you are living at. Applying late puts you right at the back of the queue for places - you only get offered what is left in your LA after allocations. You may have to join a wait list for schools you want. Renting is fine, but you need to be there on same time frame. How important all this is depends on how much you want to try and have a say in your school preference and how over subscribed some areas are. It's no issue in some areas. In others you need to be doing some serious homework

[teacherwith2kids]

How far are you moving?

The fact that you are planning to keep your current flat and rent it out is going to LOOK very dodgy, especially if you are moving over a short distance. You should be prepared for the fact that, in many LAs, if you are not moving far your application will be investigated - and it will be up to you to prove its genuine-ness as the LA has the power to simply disregard your new address and use an old one if they believe you to be gaming the system.

In your position, I would document / keep records of your every move - appointments with estate agents, dates of house viewings, date of inheritance. I would ring the LA upfront and ask questions, along the lines of 'we are moving like this for genuine reasons, but are aware that it could look really dodgy, please ciould you advise?'. Follow up every phone call with an e-mail so that you have paper trails.

I would also set a realistic deadline for moving to a rented property - say 'We will house hunt for 2 months, and if nothing comes up we will rent. Then move EVERYTHING to the new rented property - Dr surgery, council tax, everythuing that makes it really clear that it is a permanent not a temporary move. Also, if e.g. your current flat is a small 2 bed up 3 flights of stairas, rent something that is really clearly 'different' - 2 bed ground floor with garden, or a small house - so that it looks less like a 'move for school place alone'.

I think if you are 'prepared for the worst' - as in, you understand that what you are doing could look dodgy - then you can take sensible steps to reduce how bad it looks and give yourself the ammunition to support the reality of your move if it is queried.

We applied for a school place in town B while still owning a house in village A - but the two were 35 miles apart, the house had been up for sale for months etc so it was clear that we were 'genuine movers;'. The question duid get asked, though.

[teacherwith2kids]

X posted with toohot - of course it will also depend on the level of school place demand where you are moving to. If you move within 50 feet of the most over-subscribed school in the borough, in an area where hundreds of childen don't get their first choice of school, then you are MUCH more likely to face queries than if you move to an area where there is no great scramble for school places, there are many good schools, and most people get their first choice easily. In the first scenario, other parents will be watching newcomers like hawks, even if the LA is not already all over it.

[Bramshott]

As far as I know, you can use your new address as long as you've exchanged contracts. I'd be doing everything in my power to make sure that was the case by 15th Jan. You have six months, so that should hopefully be possible (isn't the average 3 months from offer to completion?)

[crazymum53]

If you are a cash buyer (which I would guess to be the case if you are keeping current flat), then the house buying process should be quicker than if you need a mortgage.
If you can find an empty property, you would be able to move quickly as there is no chain.
HTH

[admission]

The key date for primary admissions is Jan 15th as it is the address that you are living in on that date that is used for determining admission priority to each school. Most LAs but not all, do allow a little leeway for people like yourself who are moving and there will be a date in February by which you have to have proved that you have moved. You will need to have checked that for the school / LA that you are going to be living in as to exactly what they do.
As others have said the fact that you are going to rent out the flat is going to immediately raise red flags with the admission authority (LA). So you do need to document everything and a long rent on the flat which goes well past September 2015 would be best. If you also rent because of the time frame involved that is also going to be viewed with suspicion. I would suggest that if you have not got a house purchase lined up by Nov 1st, that you need to rent and quickly or you are going to find yourself with significant questions being asked by the LA over the address being used.
Bottom line is that you need to be realistic. To have any sensible chance of getting the school you want, you need to move near to the school and have completed the move by January 15th 2015.

[gracegrape]

We moved around the time of school applications earlier this year. The applications deadline was 15th January. However, most LEAs have an extended deadline for those moving house to supply proof of your new address - this is often in February or March. It is very important that you still make your original application by the initial (January) deadline, putting down your existing address, even if you are living in a different LEA. You will then have until the extended date to supply proof of change of address. In my case, we were able to email a copy of the solicitor's letter showing that contracts had been exchanged. Contact your LEA directly to find out what this date is in your area and what proof you need to supply. I would also recommend you aim to move well before the deadline, as there are inevitably hold-ups!

As other posters have said, if you rent, you will have to prove that the address you are renting near the school you want will be your primary residence.