Rent to Buy

What is Rent to Buy?

Rent to Buy allows eligible working households to rent a home at 80% of the market rent (equivalent to an Affordable Rent) for up to five years. This provides the opportunity to save for the deposit needed to buy the home.

After the initial five-year letting period we may continue offering the property as Rent to Buy, sell the home (giving the current customer a right of first refusal), convert the home to market rent or to another form of affordable rent. This decision will be at our discretion.

What is the process?

Rent to Buy homes will be advertised and subject to bids through MyMove.

You will need to register or update an existing application prior to bidding.

  • Rent to Buy homes will be prioritised to those who:
  • Have an annual household income of less than £40,000
  • Are existing social housing tenants
  • Have priority banding on Oldham Council's housing register.

If there are no eligible customers based on the above criteria, the Rent to Buy homes will then be extended to other customers so long as they have an annual household income of less that £60,000.

Rent to Buy homes will be advertised for approximately four weeks before the home is due to complete to allow time for administration before occupation.

Each property will remain open for bids for a period of five working days.

Due to levels of interest in the Rent to Buy homes we cannot update each applicant on progress with their bids, therefore please keep logging into your MyMove account for updates.

FCHO will require two weeks rent payment upfront prior to collection of keys to a new home.

Email our Development Team if you have any questions about Rent to Buy.

Eligibility criteria

  • Rent to Buy customers will be from working households and have the intention to buy their own home in the future.
  • Applicants must be first-time buyers, or those returning to the market following a relationship breakdown that has led to a sale of the family home.
  • Customers will be assessed on their capacity to afford the full market rent, of which they will only be charged an affordable rent (80% of market rent). This allows the customer to save 20% of their income over the five years. FCHO will undertake financial and background checks on all applicants and potential purchasers to verify eligibility. Further due diligence, anti-fraud and money laundering checks may be carried out.
  • Customers with the Preserved Right to Buy are ineligible for this product.
  • Customers with the Right to Acquire cannot activate their right on these homes.

If you find you do not meet the Rent to Buy criteria, you may wish to find out more about alternative ways of getting onto the property ladder.