Turning monthly rent into a mortgage deposit: how one building society's scheme is doing it

For most renters trying to save, the maths simply doesn't work. You pay your rent on time every month, you cover the bills, and by the time the month is done there's precious little left to put towards a deposit. It's a trap that has caught a whole generation of would-be first-time buyers. But one building society is offering a way out, and its latest family to benefit shows just how life-changing these schemes can be.

The Cambridge Building Society has welcomed Caitlyn and Toby, a family of four with two young children, into its Rent to Home scheme after they were selected through a ballot for one of its properties in Northstowe. Caitlyn admitted she nearly ignored the call because it came from an unknown number, before realising they had won the chance to rent the home while building towards buying it. Her reaction, jumping up and down on the phone, tells you everything about how rare opportunities like this feel to renters priced out of the traditional route.

So how does it work? Under the scheme, tenants rent a newly refurbished property from The Cambridge for between one and three years, and up to 70% of the rent they pay is returned to them to put towards a deposit when they are ready to buy. In effect, most of your monthly outgoings stop being dead money and start working towards your future home. For a family like Caitlyn and Toby's, it means three years to save for a mortgage deposit, a garden for the children, and a clear path towards what they describe as their forever home.

The scheme has form, too. Launched in 2019 to help first-time buyers who can afford rent but struggle to save a deposit on top of it, Rent to Home has already seen ten previous tenants go on to purchase their own homes, collectively receiving £169,290 towards their deposits. That is not a pilot project or a marketing gimmick; it is a track record of people who were in exactly the position many renters find themselves in now, and who came out the other side as homeowners.

The pipeline is growing as well. Five tenants across three properties are currently on track to benefit, with more than £98,280 in rent projected to be returned towards first-time buyer deposits in the coming years. And the society is preparing to add another property to the initiative in Longstanton later this year, which means more chances for renters in the area to get involved.

For renters, the lesson is worth taking seriously even if you live nowhere near Cambridgeshire. Rent-to-buy style schemes exist because lenders and housing providers recognise the core problem: saving tens of thousands of pounds while paying market rent is often impossible, no matter how disciplined you are. If a similar scheme operates in your area, or your landlord or a local lender offers one, it is worth investigating carefully. Read the terms, understand exactly what proportion of rent is returned and under what conditions, and check what happens if your circumstances change during the tenancy.

For landlords and the wider market, the story is a reminder that affordability, not aspiration, is the barrier. Caitlyn and Toby could clearly afford rental payments; what they could not do was save a deposit alongside them. Products that bridge that gap convert reliable tenants into buyers and give families security they never thought possible. As Caitlyn herself put it, they never thought an opportunity like this would be possible for them. If you are renting and stuck in the savings trap, it may be time to start asking whether something similar exists near you.