futurehomeowner
Register your interest

How it works

Rent it, save, then buy it

You move into the home you hope to buy on an assured periodic tenancy. Alongside it, you can sign a separate option to purchase agreement, giving you the right to buy that home at a price agreed on day one. You save your deposit in your own account, and buy when your mortgage is ready.

Two agreements, kept separate

An assured periodic tenancy, and an option to purchase agreement

Two separate agreements, signed separately. Keeping them apart protects you: you can rent the home on exactly the same terms whether or not you take the option.

1. Your assured periodic tenancy

  • The standard tenancy in England since May 2026: it rolls on month to month, with no fixed end date
  • Market rent, never above it, reviewed no more than once a year
  • A deposit of up to five weeks' rent, protected in a government scheme
  • All the rights any tenant in England has
  • No set-up, admin or relisting fees

2. Your option to purchase agreement

  • A separate legal agreement, signed as a deed, giving you the right, never the obligation, to buy the home
  • The price for each year agreed and written down before you sign
  • A one-off option fee of £2,000, taken off the price in full when you buy
  • Time to take independent legal advice, and 14 days to change your mind

Your journey

Step by step

  1. Register and talk to us. A short form and a free call about your situation and where you'd like to live.
  2. Assessment. We check your ID, income, affordability, credit and where your savings come from. An independent mortgage broker then reviews your situation and sets out what needs to change and how long it should take.
  3. Choose a home. From the homes we have available. A refundable holding deposit of up to one week's rent reserves it.
  4. Sign your assured periodic tenancy. The standard rolling tenancy, with your deposit protected in a government scheme.
  5. Sign your option to purchase agreement, separately. You pay the £2,000 option fee, after independent legal advice and a 14-day cooling-off period.
  6. Move in and make it home. Decorate, keep pets and look after the garden.
  7. Save, in your own account. Each month into your own Lifetime ISA or savings account. You show us a statement at each review.
  8. Review every year. With the broker and us: your credit, your savings and how close you are.
  9. Buy when you're ready. Any time from 12 months to the end of the option, at the price agreed for that year, less the £2,000 you've already paid.

An example

What it could look like each month

A three-bedroom house with rent of £1,250 a month and an agreed price of £275,000 in year five.

Over five years, £333 a month into a Lifetime ISA grows to £20,000, and the government adds a £5,000 bonus. With £2,500 of your own extra savings, that's £27,500: a 10% deposit on £275,000.

Example figures only. Your own rent, agreed prices and savings plan will be set out in writing before you sign anything. A Lifetime ISA can only be opened by people aged 18 to 39, for a first home costing up to £450,000, and there's a government charge if you take money out for anything else. If you can't open one, you'd save more each month in an ordinary savings account. We don't recommend savings providers.

Each monthAmountWhere it goes
Rent£1,250To us
Lifetime ISA savings£333Your own account
Extra savings£42Your own account
Total£1,625

Plus the one-off £2,000 option fee when you sign the option to purchase agreement.

Making it your home

Live there as if it's already yours

Until you complete your purchase, the owner is still the legal owner of the home. So while you look after it day to day, the important legal and safety responsibilities stay with the owner and us.

You can

  • Decorate and paint
  • Keep pets
  • Look after the garden
  • Do day-to-day upkeep and small repairs
  • Make small improvements

Ask us first

  • Extensions or taking down walls
  • A new kitchen or bathroom
  • Anything needing planning or building control
  • Changes to the boiler, wiring or plumbing

We look after

  • The structure, roof and drains
  • Heating, electrics and gas safety
  • Safety certificates and legal compliance
  • Buildings insurance (the owner)

You insure your own belongings. If you improve the home and then decide not to buy, the improvements stay with the home.

If plans change

If you leave or decide not to buy

Life changes, and that's fine. Here's exactly what happens.

  • You can end your tenancy with notice, like any tenant. Your option to purchase agreement ends with it.
  • Your savings are always yours and go with you to your next home.
  • Your tenancy deposit comes back, less any deductions for damage or unpaid rent.
  • The £2,000 option fee isn't refunded. It paid for the right to buy, which you held while you lived there. It's never used for damage or rent.
  • If the home is valued below the agreed price when you come to buy, we'll talk to you about reducing the price to the valuation.

Ready to find out more?

Registering is free and doesn't commit you to anything.

Register your interest Questions and answers

We're launching soon. These are the principles we'll work to, and every detail, cost and agreed price will be confirmed in your own documents before you sign. We are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and don't give mortgage, savings or financial advice.

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