Moving Home Before The School Bell Rings

Why the school application deadline should be driving your timings 

There's a particular conversation we have every autumn and it always goes the same way. A family comes in, they've found the area they want, they know roughly what they can afford, and then somewhere in the middle of it all somebody mentions the school. There's a pause. Somebody works out the dates. And the mood in the room changes. 

Why? Because the school application deadline is a good deal earlier than most people expect, and it doesn't wait around for your chain to sort itself out. I've lost count of the number of families who've worked that out in the second week of October, which is precisely the point at which there's very little anyone can do about it. 

So if you've been toying with the idea of moving to be nearer a particular school, this is the month to stop toying and start moving. Here's why. 

Please remember though that the comments and advice we give in these articles are general opinions. You should call us about your personal circumstances before making any financial decisions. 

Important: the school application dates and processes in this article apply to state schools in England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run separate admissions systems with different deadlines and different rules. Always check the position with your own local authority before making any decisions about a house move. 

1. The date that catches everyone out 

Applications for state school places open on 1 September. If your child's starting secondary school, you need to apply by 31 October. If it's Reception, you've got until 15 January. 

That secondary date is the troublemaker. It sits nearly three months ahead of the primary one, and in fairness to parents, most quite reasonably assume both fall in the new year. They don't. You get about eight weeks from the day applications open, and a good chunk of that disappears into open evenings and trying to make up your mind. 

Miss it and you can still apply, but late applications only get looked at once every on-time one has been dealt with. In an area where the popular schools are oversubscribed, that's no small disadvantage. 

Both dates above are the national closing dates for England. If you're in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, check your own deadlines, because they won't match these. 

2. Your application uses the address you live at when you apply 

This is the bit that ties the school place to the house move, and honestly it's the most important thing in this article. 

Councils assess your application on where your child is actually living when you apply. Not where you're hoping to be. Not where you've had an offer accepted. Where you live. 

So if the whole reason for moving is to be in with a shot at a particular school, the move has to be far enough along by your deadline for the new address to be the one that counts. Otherwise you're applying from your current address, against your current address's chances, and the move won't help you for that intake at all. 

One word of caution while we're on the subject of addresses. It's very easy to look at a map, draw a rough circle round a school and assume that buying inside it does the job. Distance often comes into it, but it's rarely the only thing, and every school publishes its own oversubscription criteria covering siblings, faith and various other factors. Read those properly, and look at the distances that actually got in over the last few years, before you commit to a property on the strength of a school. 

3. What that means if you're only starting now 

Between an offer being accepted and getting the keys, most purchases take somewhere around two to three months, and plenty take longer. Chains slow down, surveys throw up questions, and searches take as long as they take. 

If you're working to 31 October for secondary, August is genuinely the last comfortable month to be starting. September's tight. October is wishful thinking. 

If it's 15 January for Reception, you've got a good deal more room. A purchase started now would normally be well finished by then. But don't get too relaxed, because plenty of councils set their own cut-off for accepting a change of address several weeks ahead of the national deadline. Find out what yours is rather than working to 15 January and hoping. 

And if you've got one child going into Reception and another into Year 7 in the same year, you're dealing with both deadlines in the same round. Work to the earlier one. 

None of that means you have to have completed and unpacked. Councils will often accept evidence that you're definitely going to be at the new address. But you do need to be far enough along to prove it, and that means the mortgage side needs to be moving properly rather than sitting in a drawer while you hunt for your last three payslips. 

4. Proof of address, and what councils actually want 

If you're relying on a new address, you'll need to evidence it. The two documents that come up most often are a letter from your solicitor confirming contracts have been exchanged and giving your completion date, or a signed tenancy agreement if you're renting. 

Utility bills and council tax bills sometimes help but often won't do the job on their own. Requirements vary between councils, so check the rules for the one you're applying through rather than assuming. 

And while we're here, don't be tempted to borrow a relative's address or take a short-term let to improve your odds. Councils check, they've got a lot better at checking, and where a place has been offered on the strength of an address that wasn't the child's real home, that place can be taken away. It really isn't worth the risk. 

5. The part you can actually control 

You can't hurry a council and you can't make somebody else's solicitor get a move on. What you can do is make sure nothing on your side is the thing holding it all up. 

Get your paperwork together now. Most lenders will want recent payslips, bank statements, proof of your deposit and photo ID. If you work for yourself, expect to need accounts or tax documents too. Having that ready before you apply rather than after can genuinely save you weeks. 

Get an agreement in principle sorted so you know where you stand and sellers take you seriously. And if you've already got a mortgage offer, check how long it lasts, because most run for three to six months and a slow chain can eat through that quicker than you'd think. Extensions are sometimes possible, but they aren't guaranteed. 

If you're hoping to take your existing mortgage with you to the new place, which is often called porting, talk to us early rather than late. It isn't automatic and there are usually conditions attached. 

Get the dates in the diary 

None of this is complicated. It's just unforgiving on timing, and the families who come unstuck are nearly always the ones who worked out the dates too late, not the ones who couldn't afford the move. 

So put your deadline in the diary. 31 October if you've got a child heading to secondary school, 15 January if it's Reception, and check whether your council sets an earlier cut-off for address changes. Then work backwards and be honest with yourself about whether the move can realistically be far enough along in time. 

We're here to help you navigate the mortgage market and find the deals that work best for you, and to be straight with you about what's achievable in the time you've got. Call us if you have questions about the right way to approach it. We are happy to discuss your needs, so you know where you stand. 

Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, mortgage or legal advice. It reflects our understanding at the time of writing. School admission deadlines, local authority rules and lender criteria can all change, so please check the current position and speak to us about your own circumstances before acting on anything you have read here.