FLR(M) correspondence showing cohabitation - help?

Hi,
I am a UK citizen living with my USC fiance on a Tier 4 (student) visa in the UK. His visa expires in January 2016. Before then, we plan to marry, and apply for FLR(M).

I'm really stuck on understanding how to meet the requirement for

"Six items of correspondence addressed to you and your partner at the same address as evidence that you have been living together since your last grant of leave in this category, or from the date you first started living together up to a maximum of two years."

We have been living together since the day he entered the UK on his student visa, 22nd August 2014. However, the first piece of post I have for him is from December 2014 -- it took a while to get a bank account for him, we didn't have statements turned on at first, and I didn't really know the visa rules originally (plus we weren't even engaged and didn't know for sure we would be doing this!), etc.

Is this going to harm us? I don't think there's much I can do now to remedy it -- he simply didn't get any post that fits the requirements. It would honestly seem ridiculous for it to hurt us since it's not a requirement we were living together, but I'm just trying to do my best to parse the instructions!   

I'm also trying to make sure we collect enough evidence going forward. We don't get much post delivered. This is the state I'm in at the moment, I have:
- a tenancy agreement beginning last May, that my boyfriend was 'added on' to when he arrived with my landlord (she didn't 'date' his beginning to be part of it or anything)
- NHS card for the fiance (showing address) dated 24/12/2014, came in postmarked envelope showing 29/12/2014
- fiance's January 2015 bank statement
- fiance's "thank you for joining the NHS organ donation register" letter, from January. Not sure if this 'counts' but it is from the NHS.

That's all we have for him. I obviously have bank statements, council tax bills etc, so  we should be able to find anything for any month for me. We currently have nothing joint (except the tenancy agreement).

What would anyone recommend, going forward, to make sure we meet the requirements? We plan on setting up a joint bank account this month, so we can begin to get statements from that. Both of our individual accounts are from HSBC -- if we were to use a different bank for our joint account, would this count as another source for the requirement "They should be from at least 3 different sources"? Our electricity and gas is metered, so we can't get bills. He's a student so won't be on council tax stuff. I'm kind of stuck as to how we can produce more correspondence!

Thanks for any help in untangling my mess, sorry if I was scattered!

You need to add him to stuff.  Add him to the council bill (I don't understand why you think he can't be added).  Change a utility bill or two to add him.  We are metered but still get statements.  Turn off electronic statements and start getting the them on paper.

DVLA, HMRC, NHS are all good sources as well.  The correspondence will be critical for your second FLR(M) application and ILR. 

Thanks, KFdancer. The gas/electric is in my landlady's name, but I suppose I will have to switch it or we risk not generating enough correspondence, if I can't figure out what else to add him to. I can add him to the water bill, but I don't often receive those. Is a broadband bill 'official' enough if I were to add him to it? We don't have a landline, and we don't have a TV so we don't receive TV license bills. I don't really know what I could expect to receive from the DVLA or HMRC for him.

My understanding was that he cannot be added to the council bill because (as a full-time student) he is not required to pay council tax, and that the names on the bill indicate the people who are legally responsible for it. I claim my 25% single-occupancy reduction and as I understand it I am wholly responsible for the bill. I might be mistaken about this, I will research it some more.

Does anybody know anything about how it will be looked upon that we lack documentation from August - November of last year?

if we were to use a different bank for our joint account, would this count as another source for the requirement "They should be from at least 3 different sources"?

Yes

He's a student so won't be on council tax stuff.

He should be. I certainly was on the bill when I was a student and my (now) wife was working, even though we received the 25% single person discount. Did you tell them he was living there, and then supply proof of student status?

I'm pretty sure that if you fail to pay the (reduced) council tax, he is liable to pay it. If all occupiers of a property are students, then the bill (for £0) will be in all of their names too....

Can he get a provisional driving licence from the DVLA (or even a full, if he wants to book a test)?

Isn't your tenancy agreement dated August 2014?

If the utilities are in your landlady's name, then is she paying them?

Yes

He should be. I certainly was on the bill when I was a student and my (now) wife was working, even though we received the 25% single person discount. Did you tell them he was living there, and then supply proof of student status?

I'm pretty sure that if you fail to pay the (reduced) council tax, he is liable to pay it. If all occupiers of a property are students, then the bill (for £0) will be in all of their names too....

I second this. When my OH and I were both students, we received yearly Council Tax bills for £0.00, but both of our names were on the bill itself.