House rental

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geeksy
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 2:41 pm

House rental

Post by geeksy »

Hi, new to this forum and looking for some advice. I have recently started a new job in South Manchester and looking to move in to Trafford area early next year. We initially want to rent and then buy a house in a year as we would like to know better about the area.
My DD will be moving to secondary school in 2018 so I would have to fill applications for state schools / grammar entrance exams next year. Looking at some of the school admissions criteria such as Wellington/Altrincham, it requires "a tenancy
agreement for the new home for a minimum of 24 months without a break clause". Firstly, I wouldn't want to rent a house for 2 years and secondly, I cannot see any estate agents offering rental accommodation for such a long period. All I have seen so far are offering only 6 months rolling contract.

I am really confused now as my DD won't be eligible for some schools. Has anyone been in this position or have any suggestions please?

Thanks,
Mandy21
Posts: 302
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: House rental

Post by Mandy21 »

Just typed a response and lost it!

We were in a similar situation but for primary schools. Couple of points - landlords will love to sign you up for a long tenancy (even if properties are advertised for 6 months) because it gives them certainty. We had to have 12 months when we were applying for schools - negotiated with the estate agents for lower rent because we could give them 12 months rather than 6. It won't be a problem getting 24 months - use it to your advantage. Be aware though that the length is probably a result of people renting somewhere (on paper) just to get a place and then moving back / away. We had to provide proof that we'd sold our old house too.

If you don't want to rent for 2 years, you have plenty of time to plan your move earlier - you won't be even applying for entry in 2018 until this time next year. Can you not plan your move earlier?
PettswoodFiona
Posts: 2134
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:24 pm
Location: Petts Wood, Bromley, Kent

Re: House rental

Post by PettswoodFiona »

Sorry, as a landlord I don't love to sign people up to long tenancies as I would always prefer to have a six month tenancy agreement and then have it on a periodic tenancy after that. The reasons are that until a tenant is in the property you don't know how good they are at paying regularly, how much they will destroy your property (I had one tenant drilling holes in the bath and the kitchen sink to try and get a new bathroom and kitchen, they were a few years old and hardly massively out of date but she wanted to be able to choose hers and we'd told her we wouldn't be doing that all the time the kitchen and bathroom was in good order. The tenant's situation may also change during the tenancy term. We do encourage our tenants to make it their home and don't have ridiculous rules like not painting the walls or not putting up pictures etc but we also can't afford to have it cost more than we get in. Most landlords I know are also reluctant to have long tenancy agreements. Some buy-to-let mortgages also prevent long tenancy agreements as if the landlord doesn't pay the bank need the right to re-possess the property.

In our area if you rent and own another property you have to provide lots of proof as to why. They will often discount an application if you haven't sold the house you own. Also some homes are notoriously used as addresses for getting into catchment and the LA have these flagged on their system and will scrutinise these more heavily too.

I had a friend in this situation but only after the results came out, their DD got a score good enough for in-county Kent, but not OOC. Kent had a date for by when you could notify of change of address so they put their house on the market at a very very attractive price, rented somewhere and their house was exchanged by the date of change of address the first week of December so they had the required proof etc. All legitimate but a lot for a young person to do and they then had to commute for last term of primary and they probably lost a fair bit of money on the sale of their house.
geeksy
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 2:41 pm

Re: House rental

Post by geeksy »

Thanks Mandy21. I have seen 3 houses so far and all said they can only offer 6 month rolling contract. Due to personal circumstances I cannot move at least until March 2017. Even if I move now, I would have lived at the new address only for a year when I apply next September and the contract would be in force for another 6 months. So it will still not fulfill their criteria. So the only option I have is to find a landlord that will give me longer lease or buy a house. Tough decision to make.

PettswoodFiona, appreciate your reply. Makes sense why I am not able to find a longer contract so far. I can understand why schools have this rule but it does not reflect to the current rental market so new movers to the area have no chance.
enema
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:45 pm

Re: House rental

Post by enema »

It depends on the schools' discretion also. We were not asked about time spent at address.
Mandy21
Posts: 302
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2013 12:27 pm

Re: House rental

Post by Mandy21 »

Pettswood - it might be down to individual landlords, all I can say is that landlords here (in Trafford) were very keen on long leases and by the fact that the school is requiring that length of tenancy, its not uncommon.

Geeksy - as far as I understand it, the criteria asks that you have a 2 year tenancy. It doesn't matter (the policy doesn't make any reference to it) what stage of the tenancy you are at i.e whether you've been in the house 6 months / 1 year / 18 months as long as you can provide a 2 year tenancy agreement. If you move in March 2017, your tenanted address would be your permanent address when it comes to registration (in summer 2017), when your DD sits the exam in Sept 2017, in March 2018 when you'd be offered a place and need to provide proof of residency, and through until at least March 2019.
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