Renting in catchment area and owning outside it

[CauliflowerBalti]

We are moving to the catchment area of my son’s current primary school in order for him to continue his education with his peers at the secondary school within that area.

We were hoping to move there in 5 years’ time when I will have a lump of money to put into a mortgage, but the secondary school is getting more and more oversubscribed. The time apparently is now.

His application needs to be in by the end of October, so it’s all happening rather fast. I have no intention of committing fraud. We are moving to live there for beyond his education years. But renting for at least a year, if not more.

I do not want to sell the home we live in now. My husband and I had a big disagreement about moving at the start of the year. He wanted to, I didn’t. We stayed, and did some lovely renovations. This is a lovely house. I don’t want to leave it yet - but I will.

I want to rent it out for a decade or so, then gift it to my son. That’s my plan.

Does anyone have any idea how I can prove to the LA that I’m not cheating my way in? It’s so important to my son that he stays with his peers. He’s a very anxious soul. We need to move. But we’ve left it late. I may not have found a tenant for here by 31 October. I may still be paying council tax in two places. It worries me. I rang the LA to ask, and was totally honest, and she was very lovely and said I just needed to prove that my rented house is my permanent and only home. I will easily be able to do that - it will be. But what if I end up under the nose of someone less tolerant?

Has anyone experienced this?

[CauliflowerBalti]

If I had time to find and buy a house, I would. I don’t intend to rent forever. 18 months maximum. It’s not cheating the system. It’s playing exactly by its rules.

At the last minute.

[TeenTimesTwo]

But The rules are broadly, you can't own a house nearby and then rent in catchment.

You have had 6 years to move into the catchment of the infant/junior/secondary school. You have chosen not to, instead preferring your own house/location for whatever reason.

You now, late in the day, have realised that you might need to be in catchment to guarantee your preferred school.

You thus have 3 months to sell and rent to be properly within the rules. You're cutting it very fine. (Should have listened to your DH).

[HaaaHaaaa]

HaaaHaaaa that is good to know. There were no additional barriers beyond the address on the form. If anyone got upset and reported us as suspected frauds we’d have all the documents they’d need. I still might call again and check on Monday.

What happened with my BIL doesn't show that they were no additional barriers as he didn't attempt to get past the first barrier as he'd been rumbled.

[SavoyCabbage]

It's not Ecclesbourne is it? I know their applications are scrutinised as it's so oversubscribed.

[SassitudeandSparkle]

Will you find somewhere to rent in time, OP? Tbh, I would have thought paying two lots of Council Tax to the same Council would be a red flag, I thought that was one of the things they check!

I applied for a reception place for my DD when we were renting and owned a house but there were a few hundred miles between the two residences!

[C0untDucku1a]

It is nothing to do with last minute. If you had your house for sale / sold and was planning to rent until you saw a house you wanted to Buy, that’s fine. But you're not. Youre keeping your house you own and planning to rent in the catchment. Youve time before th cut off to get yours on the market and in some areqs even sell. But ours not. Youre trying to commit fraud. The reasons are not important. It is what it is.

[DunesOfSand]

Can I hijack?
We are a year behind you. Own a house. It has been rented for the past 4 years while we live abroad.
If we return in the summer, and rent a house in the same area (because we have long term tenants on 12 month repeat contracts, and will probably want something bigger on our return), and then apply for secondary, how will that look? It is almost certain the house we woukd rent would either be in a different catchment, or closer to catchment school, as we are right on the boundary currently.

[C0untDucku1a]

Dunes i imagine as yoid have evidence of a long-term renter on your long-term rented out property and you having lived abroad until recently youd have a bit more of
A case.

[CauliflowerBalti]

We’ve found somewhere to rent and all being well, will have signed the agreement and be collecting the keys at the end of next week.

Count Duck, I honestly disagree with you. We’d be cheating if we ever intended to move back to the house. Ever. But we don’t. Once it’s rented out, it’s not our home anymore. It’s someone else’s. We wouldn’t be paying two council taxes. The tenant would pay his/hers, we would pay ours. In rented accommodation until we see something to buy. I really can’t be the only person with two house in one county. The local authorities will have encountered cases like this before - and that’s why I asked the question. Does anyone know what is needed to prove the case.

It’s not Ecclesbourne, no. The school itself would happily take more students and recently made a case to accept an additional 40. The LA refused and won’t accept applicants outside of the postcode boundary. I think they’ve been paid to push house prices up...

I’ll call the LA on Monday and have a proper conversation.

[egdehsdrawkcab]

Cauliflower our situation was exactly the same as yours, no intention of ever returning to the house that was tenanted, and indeed under offer when the LA started investigating me (and they treated me like I was a criminal btw). The Council honestly didn't give a scoobies what the situation was. We'd been overseas and returned to borough, rented house for 3+ years while we were away, then straight into new rented place.... they still used the owner address.....

[CauliflowerBalti]

That’s very interesting. Well you know. It isn’t. But maybe keeping the house is a pipe dream... hmmm.

[egdehsdrawkcab]

*owned address

[egdehsdrawkcab]

I don't think you can keep the house if you want them to take your case seriously.....

[Walkingdeadfangirl]

Your intentions are irrelevant. You are planing on keeping and renting out your family home and moving into a rental in catchment for the school. Its blatantly against the rules aka cheating.

If you wanted to follow the rules you should have sold your family home and moved into catchment as per the rules.

[CauliflowerBalti]

No, I intend to rent out the house that is currently my family home, and find a new family home. If it wasn’t the busiest time of year at work I would attempt to do this without renting myself as packing and moving stinks.

[titchy]

Count Duck, I honestly disagree with you. We’d be cheating if we ever intended to move back to the house. Ever.

It doesn't really matter what your plans are tbh. What matters is how your LA will see it.

[Armchairanarchist]

I know a family that did this and were so angry their DS wasn't allocated a place. After years of having the same catchment area for said school, it was much smaller this year as it was hugely oversubscribed and they'd moved to just outside the new boundary.

[Walkingdeadfangirl]

CauliflowerBalt As posters have said your intentions are irrelevant. Had your timing been different you would be fine but you have said you intend to keep your family home and rent in catchment at the time of applying for the school you want. That is against the rules and called cheating.

Because 'genuine' people do that and then have a 'genuine' change of mind and 6 months later move back into the original family home. Be careful as when you get caught your DC could be pulled out of school and you will have to go to the only school in the area with free spaces (and they are usually the worse schools).

[Starlight345]

You are only moving months before admissions to a rental property .

You have a home so you are essentially trying to buy your ds’s place .

I also don’t buy you did it up so don’t want to sell .

I don’t know the ins and outs of the system but I am sure you will be returning to your renovated house

[stressedtiredbuthappy]

I'm following with interest as I'm planning to let my house and rent within catchment for a primary school place. I'm outskirts of Greater Manchester, not highly sort after Trafford!)
How on earth can the previous 3 years council tax records be used?
If people are genuinely moving that's ridiculous?!

[TeenTimesTwo]

LA refused and won’t accept applicants outside of the postcode boundary.

The LA can't refuse applications (though they may be too far down the admission criteria to get a place).
You can apply and appeal if you miss out. You 'just' have to show the disadvantage to your child is greater than the disadvantage to the school.

[TeenTimesTwo]

stressed The rules are generally that you have to have sold your family home. You don't get to own one 5 miles away and rent one on the doorstep to the school. Otherwise it is unfair to real catchment children who can't afford to own & rent. You have to 'commit' to the area.

[CauliflowerBalti]

Oh for the love of all that is holy... I am committing to the area. I always have been committed to the area. It has always been where we intended to move to. Nowhere else. There. We just need to do it sooner than we'd thought. It is where we will live, as a family, shop, as a family, socialise, as a bloody family. We renovated the house we are in to make it more practical and pleasant for a few years. We had an extension planned to start build at the end of Sept that has now been cancelled, because we are not going to live there so there is no point and we need to save the money for a deposit on our NEW family home.

Why do some people only read what they want to read? It does give me an inkling of the kind of grilling the LA could give us, should they choose. I think it's better all round if we burn the owned house to the ground, just to be safe.

The god's honest truth: my h wanted to move, I didn't want to commit to financially stretch us at the time. So we compromised and started making our current home nicer. There'd be a point where we had reached the point of no return - we'd have spent our savings on the current house and fully committed to living there. This point hasn't been reached. The renovations we've done to date make it rentable/sellable - and even then it still needs a bit more. It was a state. I don't want to sell it as I want to be able to give my son a hand up. It's not really a family home - it's a starter home. I'm attached to it for lots of reasons. Doesn't mean I want to live in it until I die. I'm just proud that I was able to hang on to it when money was vile. We need somewhere bigger - the lounge isn't big enough for us all to sit in. The plan was to extend to get around this in the short-term, and wait a few years to move (I get a bonus every year - more bonuses = smaller mortgage). But now we'll have to get a bigger mortgage. I'll sort one that I can chip lump sums off. I'm just a worrier when it comes to big debts. Would rather have applied for a smaller one. Now I can't.

ALL I wanted to know is how I can prove to the LA that the rental property isn't and won't be our home ever again.

It sounds like I might not be able to and I might have to sell the house. If this is what we have to do, we will. Thanks for all the personal experience stories.

[CauliflowerBalti]

TeenTimesTwo - the school talked me through the appeals that had been held this year. No one outside of boundary got in - the only successful appeals were from within, and they were all home movers into the area post October/pre March. Of the current y6 at my boy's school, the only kids that didn't get in are outside catchment. All catchment children got a place. I'm kidding about them being bribed to keep house prices up.

[Walkingdeadfangirl]

CauliflowerBalti Don't blame posters, we are only pointing out facts.

ALL I wanted to know is how I can prove to the LA that the rental property isn't and won't be our home ever again The only thing you can do is sell your house. If you apply owning the house whilst living in a catchment rental you will be caught cheating. It just isn't enough to say, "I am committing to the area", they have heard that a million times.

Very simple, sell your house before applying to the catchment school and your sorted, dont and you will be categorised as breaking the rules.