Renting out your house before applying for a school - is this possible?

[Freddy1985]

My wife and I have just bought a house in the catchment area for a desireable school ready for our son who will need to applying this September 2015.

We are still living in our flat which is nearby which we also own. We are planning to live here until we have prepared the house to live in, which we plan to for the next 5-10 years.

However we are thinking about raising money for renovating the house by renting it out for a year. This would mean renting out from March 2015-March 2016. However school applications end in January 2016.

Would it be possible to rent out the house even if we paid council tax bills in advance, and have them forwarded to our current address? Would this work?

You are more than welcome to rent the house out. As long as you use your flat's address for the admission form.

You need to be living in the house if you wish to use it for admissions.

Lodger?

Bloody hell, this reads like you fraudulently want to increase your chances if getting a school place .

I know it's stressful and horrible, and it feels like the most important thing in the world when you're going through it, but it will all probably turn out okay in the end. I don't think that stretching the truth is the best way to go about it though.

Anyway, if you want your DC to go to the school that much, just live in the house that you bought.

As others have said you must apply from the address where you are actually living at the time you apply. If you are renting your house to someone else you would be breaking the rules if you use that address. The council is likely to spot this and use the address of your flat for admissions purposes whatever you put on the form.

Wouldn't selling the flat be a much better way to get the money you need. Renting out the house would be a huge risk - you might get tenants who trash the place, or refuse to leave and have to be evicted.

Obviously it would be nice to move into your dream home with all the work done but that's not feasible. And like previous people have said, if you are not actually living there on deadline day you are committing fraud, and if you still own the other property they will suspect you of fraud and make things difficult. Don't try to game the system, you will get caught.

So what happens when it all goes tits up and you don't manage to 'buy' a school place?

anyway what you need to do is call up admissions. Give them your full name. Your current address and the address of the house. They will be more than welcome to answer this,
And will even give you ideas to make your application even more convincing.

Teenagers

I'd listen to bloodyteenagers. That seems the most sensible advice.

Wow - what kind of rent are you planning on charging on the (run down?) house in order to raise enough money to renovate it?

Should your OP not say:

We have bought a shit house in the catchment of a good school. We would not want to live there for love nor money but just want the address so we can get into the school. Will this work?

No. There is your answer.

Jo brilliant response. No you can not buy a crappy house in catchment then not live in but get the right postcode for admissions. It's fraud and it's likely some one will report you to the LA when they realise

Why do so many people think it's ok to fraudulently get their children into desirable schools?

Our local primary is very desirable and although we are in the catchment, our daughters have only a slim chance of getting in because so many people do what you are proposing. Is that fair? I know of one family that lives 20 miles away but use their work address so their daughter got a place. I'm seriously considering reporting them as I find that sort of behaviour so selfish.

Brilliant post JoMunro!

Live in the crappy house, which of course you really love and intend to live in for "the next 5-10 years" and rent the flat out.

All that dust, no kitchen and a bowl for a bath? Character building!

If you cannot live in the house without renovating it, how do you think you are going to rent it out? The house is either habitable or it isn't. If you want to use that address to apply for your "desirable" school, then live in it! Simple really.

Rent out your nice flat and move into your in-catchment grotty house.

If instead you let out your in-catchment house it could be rented by tenants also planning to use the address to get their own child into the desirable school. Two families both claiming to live in the same address would be viewed with great suspicion. And it would be you who were fraudulent not the tenants genuinely living there.

That really would be the ultimate karma, wouldn't it, Invizicat? OP rents out his house only to find the tenants have lost him his school place. I'm guessing they'd find themselves evicted pretty soon.

Hooty why wouldn't you report them? Email the LA with the details and leave them to investigate. Job done

If you live in Camden you will be fine...which tv show are you on?