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A Guide for Address Amendments

The responsibility for street naming and house numbering lies with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council acting under The Public Health Act 1925 sections 17 to 19.

As from 6th October 2008 the Council will introduce charging for Street Naming and Numbering (SNN). Please see the Schedule of Fees webpage.

Application of the Guide:

This guide covers the following address amendment processes:

Changing a house name for a Named only property
Adding a Named Alias to a Numbered property
Re-Numbering Properties
Signage
Renaming and Re-numbering Streets

Changing the House Name of a Named Only Property

Anyone wishing to change the name of their property needs to notify the Council in writing.

1. The property owner is required to complete and sign an Address Amendment Form (pdf below)

To change the name of the property you must be the owner of the building. If you are currently in the process of purchasing a property and wish to change the name, we cannot change the name until the completion date. Upon receipt of the application the Council will generate and send an invoice for the amount payable to process the change. The invoice will be charged against the Applicant details you supply on the form unless you specify otherwise.

2. The Street Naming and Numbering (SNN) team will then check with Royal Mail that there are no other properties with the same name on the same postcode, which could lead to postal problems and cause problems for the emergency services when finding a property. The process can take upto 2 weeks.

3. If there is a problem with the proposed name change the Council will contact you and seek your written approval to attempt to register the next choice name. This process will be repeated if the second choice name is rejected by Royal Mail.

4. Upon successful registration with Royal Mail the council will send notification of the name change to the Land Registry, Emergency Services, Royal Mail Postcodes and delivery offices and various departments within the Council including Council Tax, Elections and Land Charges.

5. Royal Mail should alter their databases within 10 working days. However it will usually take some time for the change to be filtered through to other company databases.

Adding a Named Alias to a Numbered property

Please note: that it is Council policy not to remove numbers from properties in a numbered street and these must be retained and displayed clearly. Anyone wishing to add a named alias to their property needs to notify the Council in writing.

1. The property owner is required to complete and sign an Address Amendment Form (pdf below).
To add an alias to a numbered property you must be the owner of the building. If you are currently in the process of purchasing a property and wish to add an alias, we cannot add the name until the completion date. Upon receipt of the application the Council will generate and send an invoice for the amount payable to process the change.

2. The SNN team will check the validity of the proposed name with Royal Mail, ensuring that there are no other properties with the same name in the same postcode which could cause problems for the emergency services when finding the property.

4. Upon successful clearing of the alias name the Council will agree to hold the combined property number and property name as an alias. However, the Council re-iterates that the property number remains the official address of the property and property number and name together form an alias to the address.

Re-Numbering Properties

It is also Council policy not to re-number properties that are numbered 13. Sequential numbering is used so that it is easier for the Emergency Services to locate a property.

Signage

When a property has been allocated a property name or number it must be displayed and be clearly visible from the street. If the property has been allocated a house number then this number cannot be removed from the address and must be clearly displayed on the property. The owner is obliged to use this number.

Please do not make any changes to the address of your property until you have received written confirmation of the new name from the Council.

Renaming and Re-numbering Streets

In exceptional circumstances residents can apply to the Council to rename a street. This may be done because;

There is confusion over the street's name
The residents are in agreement that the street name should be changed

If the Council receives such a written application by an owner of a property in the street, existing residents will be contacted and their views sought. It is Council policy that a street name change can only occur if all the occupiers (business or Council Tax rate-payers) of the affected street are in written agreement to the change.

Applicants should be aware that such a street name will require consultation with Ward councillors, the parish and Royal Mail and will usually lead to a postcode change for the affected properties. Applicants are referred to the Schedule of Fees webpage to assess the SNN cost of the process. It is not Council policy to pay for the new street signage and applicants are referred to the Street Care team on 01628 796801 for information on street signage costs. To initiate street name changes please complete an Address Query on-line Form.

Other Links

If you are building a new development you must register your Street Naming and Numbering with the Council. Please see the Guide for Developers webpage.
If you have another query relating to your address please fill in an Address Query on-line Form or email snn@rbwm.gov.uk

Correspondence:

Please address all SNN correspondence to:
Street Naming and Numbering
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Town Hall, St Ives Road
Maidenhead
SL6 1RF
Email: snn@rbwm.gov.uk
Telephone: 01628 796487

Forms

Address Amendment Form (pdf 46KB)