What is Rent to Buy / Intermediate Rent?
Rent to Buy, or Intermediate Rent as it was once known, is a stepping stone from renting your house to buying it at a later date.
We occasionally have properties available to rent on a short term basis with the intention of you being able to buy the property at a later date through shared ownership.
As the property is intended for shared ownership in the future, the rent you will pay is an ‘affordable rent’ and represents approximately 80% of an open market rent.
Who can apply?
To be eligible for the scheme you need to:
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be 18 years or over;
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have a total household income of less than £80,000 and be currently unable to get a mortgage due to having no deposit or you need to increase your credit score;
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be in full time employment and be able to afford 80% of the local market rent without further assistance. That means you are not claiming any Housing Benefit;
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have your application approved by the local Help to Buy agent; and,
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be able to make a commitment to enter home ownership through a low cost home ownership product. This means renting for a minimum of least two years, up to five depending on the property and the development and be able to demonstrate how the discounted rent will enable you to save a deposit.
How do I apply?
If you are interested in buying a home through the Rent to Buy scheme, please email our Sales and Leasehold team at homebuy@wdh.co.uk
This chart gives an indication of monthly savings required to meet a 5%, 10% and 15% deposits.
This is based on current house valuations, which may increase over the two-year period.
| % Deposit | Market value | Equity share | Two year monthly savings |
| 5% | £100,000 | 50% | £104.16 |
| 10% | £100,000 | 50% | £208.33 |
| 15% | £100,000 | 50% | £312.50 |
| 5% | £125,000 | 50% | £130.21 |
| 10% | £125,000 | 50% | £260.42 |
| 15% | £125,000 | 50% | £390.63 |
In addition to the deposit, potential buyers will need approximately £2,500 to cover the costs of buying a new home, including legal fees.
We currently have no Rent to Buy properties available but keep checking back for updates.
Once we have received and assessed an approved application and you are deemed eligible for the Rent to Buy scheme, we will then arrange an interview and a viewing.
The timescale to purchase a Rent to Buy property is normally between two and five years.
This is dependent on the property, the development and the economic climate and is ultimately at WDH's discretion.
If you are on the Rent to Buy scheme, you must occupy the property. You cannot let the property to anyone else.
If you have any queries, please email our Sales and Leasehold team at homebuy@wdh.co.uk or phone OneCALL on 0345 8 507 507.
