A helping hand

Find your place to call home with Rentplus, which lets you pay reduced rent on a new build property so you can save for a deposit to buy it

EXPERT COMMENT

It looks like 2022 will be another positive year for Rentplus. We have approaching 25,000 quality homes under development or in review and we have another tranche of renters who will become homeowners after moving in with no deposit in 2017 and renting for just fi ve years.

The days we sell our homes to tenants, turning renters into homeowners, make it all worthwhile.

Steve Collins, CEO, Rent plus

Living in a rented property while trying to save for a deposit has become almost impossible for so many people on

middle-to-lower incomes. As rents have risen exponentially, an entire generation of renters has felt excluded from buying their own properties. For most, monthly mortgage repayments are cheaper than their rent – but being able to raise a deposit to get a mortgage in the first place is the biggest barrier of all.

RENTPLUS

Rentplus was introduced to solve this problem for renters – to remove the deposit barrier and make homeownership achievable for working professionals and families alike.

Rentplus is a private provider of the long running rent-to-buy scheme. It allows those on low to middle incomes to move into a beautiful, brand new home with no deposit, and pay a reduced affordable rent for 5-20 years, giving them time to save for a deposit.

Doing so has helped many renters restore their credit scores in preparation for homebuying.

FOREVER HOMES

Homes are rented for lease periods of five to 20 years. After a set time, with savings built, renters are able to get a mortgage to buy their properties. Rentplus also gifts 10% of the purchase price to boost savings.

In 2021, the first of Rentplus’ renters bought their homes after five years in their properties. They had paid five years of affordable rent (20% less than private rent), cleared debt, restored credit ratings, saved money and then become homeowners with high street mortgages. All these things had seemed so far out of reach before moving into a Rentplus home.

Here we meet some of Rentplus’ happy renters and learn about their journey towards homeownership.

Rentplus works in partnership with housing associations, and offers homes in new build developments all over the country. F or more information, visit rentplus-uk.com

CASE STUDY – JAMES & VICTORIA

Both children of serving Army parents, and then an Army family themselves, James Mead and Victoria Penketh-King had moved in and out of Army homes around the world all their lives. Neither felt they’d ever been able to call anywhere a “proper home”. In 2015, a life-changing back injury saw James medically discharged from the Army, so they needed to find a new home very quickly. Victoria heard about Rentplus, the affordable rent-to-buy scheme, and realised it was very possible to own their own home.

They were accepted for a three bedroom house in Derriford, Plymouth – with room for children Masie and her brother Harry. They moved in without any deposit, and immediately felt at home. “This is the first proper home we have had in our lives,” said Victoria. “It’s lovely to know that we are part of a long-term community, to be able to join in and be part of something.”

The couple are both working, have been able to save, and are looking forward to buying their property after the five-year period. “The drive to buy is not just the pride of working hard to own your own home. It’s also for our children and leaving them something, and somewhere they can put down roots and be part of the community. Rentplus hasn’t just given us a house, it has given us a real home.”

CASE STUDY - NICOLE RICHARDS

When nurse Nicole Richards’ landlord in Wellingborough decided to raise her rent, she knew that she would have to downsize. Unable to save the deposit she needed to buy her own home, she started looking for a smaller rental property. Just one week later she moved in to her brand new house, paying affordable rent, and was on course to owning her own home.

Nicole, 27, had long thought about buying a home. She’d moved to Northampton after renting in Cambridgeshire and looked into shared ownership, but had found it impossible to save any money for a deposit. Renting seemed her only option.

“When I started looking for a smaller house, I was happy to see the new one bedroom houses Rentplus was offering in Kingsthorpe, through Greatwell Homes,” says Nicole. Very quickly, and without the need for any deposit, Nicole moved in to a brand new one bedroom house, leaving her just enough time to get carpet laid.

“I’m loving living in my new home. It’s really quiet. The neighbours are lovely and Greatwell Homes was very, very helpful. I plan to be in a position to buy the house in five years’ time. I have an ISA set up and I can already see that growing each month. Rentplus is a fantastic opportunity to help people such as myself to save to purchase their first home, and I am so grateful to find this opportunity.”