How do I unpick my address?

[MMaisel]

I bought a flat recently - joint ownership - and have run into a strange frustrating issue. The building houses 5 flats most of which seem to be empty. My number is flat 2, and that is what my mortgage says.

Trying to get British gas to switch on my supply has been a nightmare, because it turns out the guy who sold me that flat actually split one massive flat into two maisonettes. He called them flat one and flat two, ignoring the fact that there was already a flat two in the building!

Anybody know what I can do to pick apart this mess, when it comes to utility companies? I could happily kill the seller right now. All he had to do was sell me the place as flat 5 or 6, or call it "The Shire" for all I care.

What's recorded at the Land Registry?

I'm not super experienced on this but would have thought your conveyancing solicitor should have picked this up

Can anyone at the Council perhaps help? Either through Council tax (where each flat will need a unique address to pay council tax) or the planning department to ask how they are registered. That's where I would start.

Perhaps if the guy split for example flat number 3 you should be 3a or 3b?

I hope the guy had planning permission to split the flat
Have you checked you have separate electricity and gas supplies?
You need to look at the serial number of your meters

Are you able to definitively locate your gas/electric meters and the MPRN/MPAN associated with each?

Yes, I have my own electric meter (pre payment). He he did have planning permission. Am going to get my partner to look at the land registry when I get back from work.

Am going to ask the council, thanks I think that's great advice.

Your council should have someone who deals with street naming and numbering -it's them you will need to speak to rather than planning.

In my experience it's the meter number(s) to which your supply relates. Unless somebody's picking holes in the numbering that's fine.

Issue seems to be tying up the meter number with a supply/billing address.

Is that right?

If this is the problem, it can be a nightmare to sort out. I have direct experience. I won't use my actual house number, but when it was built it was going to be numbered, say, 133C. When it was finished, it was actually numbered 131A. However, the national database of gas meters has my meter registered as belonging to 133C. That was bad enough when there was no 133C, but 133C does now exist. It causes all kinds of problems whenever either of us wants to change gas suppliers.

I second the advice to contact the Street Naming and Numbering Officer at your council, they are the ultimate arbiter of what your address is and should be able to contact British Gas directly. As an exSNNOfficer, I can assure you they’re usually very helpful.