Moving house after an offer but before taking up the place

[ZucchiniPie]

I'm recently separated. DD, DS and I have stayed living in the rented house we've been in for a few years but I'm trying to buy somewhere. Meanwhile, this autumn is when we need to apply for DD's secondary school place.

I know that if you change address during the application process, that usually moves you onto a waiting list until they've made the first round of offers on Offer Day. So I'm already thinking that if I haven't bought before October then I need to stay in my rented place till March.

But what happens if having been given a school place you then need to move house before the child takes up that place in September? Does that invalidate the offer? In other words, if I'm still in my rented house on 31 October this year, do I need to stay there until at least September 2020 to avoid losing a school place? Or once you have the offer is that enough?

What's incredibly frustrating about this situation is that I'm not trying to game the system. I'm just trying to get on with my life and find a place to settle down, having rented for too many years. And I'm actually trying to buy in exactly the area I'm currently in. But with the market the way it is and so few properties available to buy, I can see myself heading closer and closer to being caught in a limbo of having to stay in my rental for nearly an extra year if I don't find a place to buy soon.

Any advice from someone who really understands how London school applications work would be very much appreciated.

Nope, once you have the offer there are very limited grounds on which it can be revoked, and a legitimate move is not one of them. If they believe the address is fraudulent - not where you actually live - a place can be withdrawn, but assuming this will be the only property you are renting and you don't own another property locally, you will be fine.

Thanks so much - that's very reassuring. Yes, I would be moving from a rental (and not owning anywhere else) to my own place (still not owning anywhere else).

OP, check with the council for the area you intend to move into. From what I recall the cut off dates for change of address to be taken into account is more like December than October. But then yes, you would need to stay in the same address until March if it is the one you are using for school application.

Check the small print for each school though. Some heavily over subscribed schools have criteria that you have lived in a place for a certain number of years - you don't want to get caught out by that.

If you apply from place X in October, then you do not automatically go onto waiting lists until after Offer Day. Sometimes there is a later date eg December which if you have moved to a new address in Y by then, then your eligibility will be based on this new address (whether to move you up or down the priority). However you "should" still be offered something on offer day. Then your place on waiting lists will be affected by your new address.
Especially if you are buying your application shouldn't be deemed fraudulent as you will have a thorough paper trail of the process of buying the house and the timescales.

Thanks Busy and Molly. (Sorry it was DD's birthday party yesterday so I didn't log on all day). This is really helpful information. I'll check on all this with the school we're hoping for and local council.

Bumping as in a similar position . Thank you