How does the London Living Rent process work?
Introduced in 2017, London Living Rent is a scheme for people who can afford the costs of home-ownership but need support raising the funds for a deposit.
By reducing monthly rent costs, the London Living Rent scheme frees up more of a tenant’s income, making it easier to build savings over time. Tenants also have the option to buy the property they’re living in on a Shared Ownership basis once they’ve saved enough.
You can read about the eligibility criteria to see if you could make use of London Living Rent to buy your first home.
A quick overview of how it works:
- Find a home to rent through London Living Rent for around 20% less than renting privately.
- Save the extra money you would have paid on rent for a deposit.
- When you're ready, buy the home you have been saving for through Shared Ownership.
London Living Rent - Part One: Renting
Once you’ve found a home you love you can register your interest and sign up for updates on our website.
When you register your interest for a property you’ll be sent updates including when a show home is open so you can come along and view it.
Before you view one of our homes we will refer you to an Independent Mortgage Advisor from our panel. They will do a pre-qualification with you to make sure you meet the criteria for London Living Rent, and make sure it’s the right choice for you.
If you like what you see, you can reserve a home for £500. When making a reservation, you can choose a selection of homes including your preferred choices. This will give you a higher chance of being offered a home if we receive more than one reservation for any single property.
After you make a reservation, you will be given a time frame on when we can confirm that we can offer a home with an offer letter. If we receive more than one reservation for the home, we will make a decision based on who best meets the eligibility criteria.
Once you have been offered a property, you will be invited to meet an Independent Mortgage Advisor from our selected panel of experts. During this meeting, they’ll do a more in-depth check to ensure you are able to afford the home and double-check you meet the eligibility criteria.
They will also help you to understand your savings goal in order to buy the property when you are ready. You will need to bring ID, bank statements and payslips. This is a detailed discussion and may take up to an hour. You must complete the financial assessment within five days of being offered a property.
If it is a new build property then you may not be able to move in straight away. You will be notified of the move in time frames and the Sales Team will keep you updated throughout the process.
When you sign your tenancy agreement, you will need to pay an initial five weeks deposit and one months’ rent in advance. Your £500 reservation fee will be deducted from your advanced rent payment.
When you move in, our team will be on hand to welcome you and show you how everything works in your new home. They will also help you take meter readings and answer any questions you may have about your home.
Every year you’ll have an Independent Mortgage Advisor check in to help you with budgeting and to make sure you’re on track to hit your savings goal. You’ll also receive yearly valuations on your home so you have up to date information on how much it’s worth.
London Living Rent - Part Two: Buying through Shared Ownership
London Living Rent is based on a tenancy of a maximum of ten years.. You can buy your home at any point on a Shared Ownership basis. Your yearly financial assessments will help you figure out whether you have a big enough deposit and if you’re ready to buy your home.
When you are ready to buy your home, you’ll need to let us know by returning your offer acceptance form and formally instruct a Solicitor and Mortgage Advisor.
We have a panel of Solicitors and Independent Mortgage Advisors who specialise in Shared Ownership and can help you through the buying process. It is likely that there will be fees associated with these services, so we suggest that you obtain a quote before formally instructing.
You will need to submit a mortgage application within two working days of your financial assessment. If you are going directly to a lender to obtain your mortgage, you may need to book an appointment with them in advance of your financial assessment to make sure you’re able to meet this timescale.
An independent valuation of your new home will be carried out on behalf of the mortgage lender. If they are satisfied with the valuation and financial checks, they will present you with a mortgage offer.
While you arrange your mortgage, our Solicitor will be in communication with your Solicitor to provide legal paperwork and respond to any legal enquiries.
Once we receive an offer acceptance form following a successful financial assessment, we will send a Memorandum of Sale to your all parties including solicitors and Mortgage Advisors. After all legal enquiries have been satisfied, your Solicitor will contact you to arrange exchange of contracts.
Upon exchange, you’re legally bound to buy the home and we are legally required to sell you the property. This is usually within six weeks of the Memorandum of Sale, or within five working days of receiving your mortgage offer (whichever date is earliest).
On completion day, the money to buy your home is transferred to our Solicitors. This is typically within
10 days of exchanging of contracts. Once completion has taken place, you will legally own your home through Shared Ownership!
Upon completion, your 5 weeks deposit that was paid at the start of the process will be deducted from the final fees.
