Nearly a fifth of Londoners are living “unofficially” in other people’s homes, using the wrong address for bills and services but unaware that doing so could invalidate any home insurance claims and even make it difficult to secure local medical attention.
The figures, from Direct Line, also suggest that 14% of Britons are currently registered under the wrong address with banks, insurers, local councils, and the DVLA. Doing so may just seem like an easy way to avoid unnecessary — and boring — post, but it could mean missing out on debt or interest warnings from banks, and risk fines through failing to receive documents from the DVLA. Direct Line warns having unrecorded tenants in a property could also leave their possessions uninsured, as well as invalidate a home insurance claim made by the property owner.
Yet most “unofficial residents” don’t view their lodging as temporary: nearly a third of those polled by the insurer admitted to having been living in the addresses without telling officials for more than eight years. Jenny Trueman, home insurance manager at Direct Line, warns: “The most common cause is after moving home. Changing address details is one of those administrative tasks that is frequently put-off or forgotten.
“However, the consequences of using the wrong address are far worse than a few lost letters — people risk being fined by the DVLA, or losing highly sensitive financial information from their bank. Their possessions also may not be covered, and the validity of [a home insurance] policy itself may also be affected.”
