Rent a Welland House flat and get 60% of your rent back as a first-home deposit. Applications closed on 30 October; the ballot for the five flats is 30 November.
Market Harborough Building Society will let five flats in Welland House, on The Square, to first-time buyers and hand back 60% of the rent as a deposit when they buy. The society announced the scheme on 6 October.
Updated 31 October: applications closed at 5pm on Friday 30 October. On 31 October the society’s scheme page still gave no rents for the flats and still listed a £40,000 minimum income, against £30,000 in the terms. The ballot is due on 30 November.
Applications opened with the launch. They closed at 5pm on Friday 30 October, or earlier if 50 applications arrived first. The five tenants will then be picked by ballot on 30 November.
What the society is offering
Tenants pay the open market rent. After at least a year, a tenant who is ready to buy their first home gets 60% of the rent they have paid sent to their solicitor or conveyancer towards the deposit. The return covers rent paid over up to three years.
The society’s full details and terms give a worked example. A tenant paying “say £1,350” a month for three years would get £29,160 back. That is 60% of 36 months’ rent.
On the same example rent, one year would return £9,720 and two years £19,440. The £1,350 is the society’s illustration, not the actual rent. The terms say the rent for each flat will be set at the market rate and announced when the ballot process starts.
For scale, the average first-time buyer in Harborough district paid £278,406 in July, according to the Land Registry’s house price index. The full three-year return in the society’s example would cover just over 10% of that. Our July house prices report has the detail.
The five flats
The scheme page lists:
- one ground floor studio flat
- two first floor one-bedroom flats
- one one-bedroom flat over several floors
- one two-bedroom flat over several floors
They are let unfurnished. Each has a fitted kitchen with fridge freezer, induction hob, dishwasher and washing machine, plus heating, a fibre connection, carpets and flooring, and an electric shower.
Chief executive Iain Kirkpatrick said: “For many first time buyers, saving for a deposit while paying rent can feel impossible. By returning a portion of the rent towards a future house deposit, this initiative gives local people a real opportunity to take that next step.”
The society says the flats are part of a wider refit of Welland House, which includes a redesigned branch with a community hub. It describes the scheme as building on its £2.2 million investment in seven affordable homes across South Leicestershire.
Who can apply
Under the terms, applicants must:
- be first-time buyers who have never owned a home anywhere in the world
- apply alone or with one other person, both first-time buyers
- live, work or have a close relative within 15 miles of one of the society’s branches
- earn no more than £60,000 alone, or £80,000 jointly
- be paid in pounds into a UK bank account
- have a permanent right to live in the UK or EU Settlement status
- pass credit and letting agent checks, and have no criminal record
- open a savings account with the society, with at least £100, if their name is drawn
The minimum income differs between the society’s own documents. The scheme page says £40,000. The terms PDF gives a “guide minimum” of £30,000. Anyone earning between the two should ask the society before applying.
The credit checks allow no more than two missed payments in the last 24 months. Any bankruptcy, IVA, county court judgment or default must have been satisfied for over three years. Debts over £10,000 each, apart from car finance and student loans, will be reviewed.
Key dates
- 1 October: applications opened
- 30 October, 5pm: applications close, or earlier at 50
- From 9 November: viewings, 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
- 30 November: ballot held and successful applicants contacted
- From 4 January 2027: flats ready to move into
The catches
The money is only paid if you buy. The terms say a tenant who moves out before buying, or who does not buy “within a reasonable timescale” after leaving, gets nothing back.
Other conditions in the terms:
- the home you buy must be your only home, in England or Wales, and not let out
- you must still be renting the flat up to completion
- rent must have been paid on time and the flat kept in good order
- the money goes to your solicitor, never to you
- the purchase must complete within three years and nine months of the tenancy starting to get the full three years’ return
- tenants are asked to agree to take part in promotional activity for the scheme
The tenancy is an assured periodic tenancy, managed by the letting agent Sheldon Bosley Knight. A month’s rent is due as a security deposit when you sign. The society advises successful applicants to take independent legal advice before signing.
What it means for you
If you rent, earn within the limits and want to buy within about three years, this is worth a look before 30 October. Email Thrive@mhbs.co.uk for an application form, or ask in branch. The society’s customer line is 01858 412412.
With five flats and up to 50 applications, most applicants will not get one. The ballot means it is luck, not first come first served, once you meet the criteria.
Check the actual rent when it is announced. The return is only as good as what you can afford to pay each month while still saving the rest of your deposit.
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