Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Renting in school catchment area temporarily

202 replies

3weeksuntilwine · 08/03/2018 20:48

I’m prepared to be told I’m unreasonable and potentially planning something illegal...

We live on the catchment boundary of a really good primary school and my DD is due to start reception in September 2019. We are currently looking at houses and hoping to move a couple of miles to get into the catchment completely but there’s nothing on the market at the moment and we haven’t sold our house. I’m aware the application process will start in autumn.

Would it be unreasonable to rent a flat for a few months in the catchment area from September 18 and use the rental address on the application? The dodgy bit is that we would continue to live where we are now. My crazy thought is that we’d have a short term lease and if we still haven’t sold/moved then stay in current house until something comes up...(so keep the rental for a few months only)

I know this sounds crazy but we also have two younger kids who would be going to school a couple of years later. If we didn’t get into this school, we would have to consider a fee paying school for the eldest as other schools locally aren’t great. The big cost outlay now would be far cheaper than sending all three to private school.

Am I considering a fraudulent act?
Has anyone done anything similar?
If the majority agree this is an ok plan, are there any flaws in it?
Tia

OP posts:
HerbNotErb · 08/03/2018 21:27

Just go to your catchment school if you move then apply to the other school. Messing around with trying to go to the ''good school'' is a waste of time. Just spend some time with your child supporting them during their school years.
Everyone's life would be so much easier if they stuck with their catchment school

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 08/03/2018 21:27

Every year... Confused. Another posters thinking they are the first one ever to come up with this brilliant wheeze.
It doesn't work, op, because it's been tried and failed umpteen times before you and the LA's know exactly what to look for.

gussyfinknottle · 08/03/2018 21:27

No one will ever know ... no, wait a minute.

MrsPottsTheTeapot · 08/03/2018 21:28

My next door neighbour asked me a couple of years ago if her sister could use my address for exactly this reason. They realised using hers would be too obvious as we are in small terraced houses and ndn already had two at the school. They even offered to take over my Council Tax for the "inconvenience".

If you go ahead with this OP, can you let me know by PM which LA you're in so I can report you?

WhatWouldWallyDO · 08/03/2018 21:29

I won't worry abuot the morality of it. If you're 100% actually going to move in to the catchement, fair enough.

I do think you're likely to get caught though.

Glumglowworm · 08/03/2018 21:29

It’s illegal and immoral and it’s fraud.

Biscuit
ToadOfSadness · 08/03/2018 21:30

We rented our house as we weren't ready to move into it at the time. The family that moved in wanted to be in the catchment area, so they in turn rented their house out.

Eventually they sold theirs and bought another one nearby, and we moved in to ours. It worked for everyone. Could you try that? You might have to rent something you wouldn't normally choose, but could keep looking for something more suitable.

Coulddowithanap · 08/03/2018 21:31

Of course it's wrong.

We had to provide proof of address when applying for our local primary school. They even mentioned about catching some people doing that kind of thing just to get a place.

Original poster
3weeksuntilwine · 08/03/2018 21:32

I sound ‘awful’ for asking a hypothetical question? Bit OTT.

OP posts:
AutoFilled · 08/03/2018 21:33

Like others say I would either sold the house now and rent a house within catchment. Or sell and buy a crappy one in catchment. I probably would go with the first because your sale is ight fall through if in a chain. Without a chain you will have better luck in getting it complete quickly. Just think of it, the potential house price rise between sale and purchase, and the rent you will pay, is likely to be less than school fees. And keep looking while renting.

greenbeansqueen · 08/03/2018 21:33

Morally I think it’s a shitty over privileged thing to do but then the people who I know who do this kind of thing because they can and have the brass neck of the wealthy-ish don’t give a monkeys because they find a way to justify it to themselves. I’m not sure you would get caught, am pretty sure no one checked That we really lived at our house ( we do/did) but we weren’t trying to get into ‘the’ only school, just a half decent one in a town with not enough school places in general. You’re going to anyway i’m Sure - this AIbU is more of a ‘will I get caught’ isn’t it? Oh and where we are the sibling link only works if you’re inside catchment so a short term rental wouldn’t be an option.

Figgygal · 08/03/2018 21:34

Are the alternative schools REALLY that bad?

Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar · 08/03/2018 21:35

The "it's only hypothetical!" wasn't in your op. It was a later dripfeed when you didn't get the chorus of approval you hoped for.

ohreallyohreallyoh · 08/03/2018 21:35

Yes, awful. If you are able to co wider putting three children through private education, why not just do that? Rather than seek to remove a school place from a child who would otherwise have been able to go to their nearest school?

mojito55 · 08/03/2018 21:36

Why is everyone being so horrible? It was a perfectly reasonable thought and hardly worthy of all this abuse! Curse you OP for wanting what's best for your child Hmm

applesandpears56 · 08/03/2018 21:37

Er because it’s illegal and immoral?
Does wanting the best for your child mean it’s ok to break the law?

CountFosco · 08/03/2018 21:38

We looked into renting in catchment because we hadn't seen anything we wanted to buy (have now) when we first got an offer on our house. If you are in temporary accomodation the council will use your previous address to determine distance to school. This is good if you are renting cheaply while doing up your house. Not so good for you. DH has to look at this kind of thing for work, any organisation that uses addresses to determine eligibility will have ways of preventing people doing what you suggest.

Garmadonsmum · 08/03/2018 21:38

You can't sound "awful" for raising a hypothetical question?
Which of your three children would taste best if eaten by the Not Now Bernard monster?
Awful? But it's just a hypothetical question!

Creambun2 · 08/03/2018 21:39

Disgusting behaviour. Hope you get found out if you do this.

CotswoldStrife · 08/03/2018 21:39

No OP, you didn't say it was hypothetical at all - you said

If the majority agree this is an ok plan, are there any flaws in it? Tia

applesandpears56 · 08/03/2018 21:39

It’s her responses and attitude that are awful

Original poster
3weeksuntilwine · 08/03/2018 21:40

I think the tone of my OP was one of uncertainty and genuinely wondering about it rather than implying I’m scanning rental properties.

There’s only so many times I can say this though.

Didn’t think I deserved some of the nastier comments.
Thanks for the advice though.

OP posts:
allinclusive · 08/03/2018 21:40

We were on a similar situation as yourself, the house we were buying fell through 10 months before the application deadline. Luckily we were moved into another house by the November, but plan B was to move into rented accommodation. You should consider this as a possibility rather than commit fraud. If it's a popular school, you might get reported. Somebody did get their daughter's placed revoked when they tried to put their own father's address down as their own. We were also asked to provide 2 bills to prove we lived at our house post application.

Original poster
3weeksuntilwine · 08/03/2018 21:49

applesandpears56
You keep saying I’m ‘awful’ in my responses. Why?

OP posts:
SmallestInTheClass · 08/03/2018 21:50

In our area the council would be straight on to you. Need to show that you have sold any house nearby as previous poster has said. If you can sell yours, then you could move into rented for a 6-12 months to ensure you get in, but check your council's rules about length of tenancy etc. Nothing illegal about doing it this way, you're showing commitment to living in the new area but just wouldn't have found a permanent place to buy.