New flat used to be a shop

Tenant Discussion
1

Hello all!

Last week I moved into a rented flat which has just been converted from a shop. I am having a few issues with setting up accounts, changing details etc. I contacted Royal Mail and they have changed their record of the address, taking off the shops name and simply leaving it as Number/Street. However, when changing the address of my driving license and voting address, the respective websites did not even list the old address, let alone my new one. Do government websites use someone other than Royal mail for their records? They may have their own list of residential addresses, I’m not sure. All I know is that the Landlord has contacted the council and a CT band is in the process of being assigned, apparently it can take up to 90 days. On completion, is this when gov.uk websites would have new information about my address?

Also, when looking for utilities on USwitch, it came up that they could not provide switches for business addresses. This worries me as I feel that if I wait for my first bill in the post then I may discover I have been on some sort of business tariff.

I’d appreciate any advice on what sort of things to look out for when moving into a property recently converted. I have no qualms with the Landlord or the building, I love it, I’m just concerned that I may be in for a few surprises if I dont act.

Thanks,
Luke

2

First and foremost make sure the property is registered as domestic at the valuation office and move on from there. The council should have written to the valuation office but chase planning council tax and valuation office simultaneously.
You can then correct with royal mail.
Then register as domestic with council tax.
Then ask your current utility supplier to update the national database (provide domestic council tax as evidence) and register as a domestic usage. Call them every day. It takes 24 hours. Mine took over 4 months because of incompetent staff.
Then change utility supplier
This is normal just keep on chasing them till it happens but first step is with planning buildings at LA and valuation office