Property Ownership Plan A proposed ownership route

For prospective buyers

How POP would work for you

You move into the home you intend to buy, pay an agreed amount each month, and those payments build your deposit. After three years, you buy the home. Here is what that would mean for you, in plain English.

POP is a proposed product, explained here so you can understand the idea. It is not something you can apply for yet.

What POP means for you

Your rent builds the deposit for your own home

Under POP, you move into the home you intend to buy. Each month you pay an agreed amount — and unlike ordinary rent, all of it builds towards the deposit for that same home.

After a set period, normally three years, you use the money you have built up as your deposit and buy the home with a mortgage and any savings of your own. The aim is a clearer bridge between renting and full ownership: unlike Shared Ownership, you do not buy part of the home and pay rent on the rest — the intended outcome is that you own 100% of the home at the end.

How your payments are protected

Your deposit money is kept safe and always yours

  • Your payments are held in a protected, ring-fenced account under the scheme rules.
  • The provider cannot use your deposit money for its day-to-day running costs — unless the agreement says payments become rent because you did not complete.
  • You are given regular statements showing how much you have paid and how much deposit has built up.
  • Any interest earned on your balance belongs to you and is added to your deposit at completion.
  • The agreement sets out any circumstances where payments could be retained, returned, transferred or used at completion.

A worked example

Building a £37,500 deposit on a £250,000 home

These illustrative figures come from the POP model. They show how the monthly payment is worked out — the numbers on your own home would depend on its price.

The headline numbers

What the three years would look like

Home value

£250,000

Deposit target · 15%

£37,500

POP period

3 years

Monthly payment

c. £1,042

  1. Choose your home

    In this example, a new-build home valued at £250,000.

  2. Work out the deposit

    The deposit target is 15% of the value — that is £37,500.

  3. Spread it over three years

    £37,500 across three years is £12,500 a year, or about £1,042 a month, paid into the protected POP account.

  4. Your deposit builds

    By the end of the three years, your payments have built the full £37,500 deposit. Any interest earned along the way is added to it.

  5. Buy your home

    You use the £37,500 as your deposit and take a conventional mortgage — plus any additional savings needed — to buy the same home.

Who it's for

Is POP right for you?

POP is aimed at people who are close to being able to buy but have not yet been able to save a deposit. It is not meant to replace every affordable-ownership product — it fills the gap for people whose main barrier is the deposit, not the monthly mortgage.

POP could suit you if

It fits your situation

  • You are a first-time buyer, or otherwise cannot buy a suitable home on the open market without support.
  • Your income is likely to support a mortgage by the end of the POP period.
  • You can afford the monthly POP payments during the agreement.
  • You can pass affordability, credit and anti-money-laundering checks at the start.
  • You intend to live in the home as your only or main home.
  • You are willing to take independent legal and financial advice before signing.

POP may not be the right fit if

Another route may suit you better

  • You can already afford to buy a suitable home without support.
  • You cannot show a realistic route to mortgage affordability by the end of the term.
  • You want the home mainly as an investment or a second home.
  • You do not intend to live in the home yourself.
  • You have unresolved credit issues that would make completion unlikely unless your circumstances change.

A provider should not accept you into POP unless there is a realistic prospect that you can complete the purchase at the end. This is there to protect you from starting a path that is unlikely to lead to home ownership.

Costs & what to check

What it would cost, and when

Before joining POP you would want to understand the costs before, during and at completion. These should be set out clearly in a key information document before you reserve a home.

Before you move in

Getting started

  • Reservation fee, if one is charged
  • Legal, and mortgage or financial, advice fees
  • Any valuation or admin fees permitted under the scheme
  • Moving costs and setting up your home

During the POP period

Living there

  • Your monthly POP payment, which builds your deposit
  • Service or estate charges, if the property has communal areas
  • Council tax, utilities and household bills
  • Contents insurance, and any repairs the agreement makes yours

When you buy

Completing the purchase

  • Your deposit, from your POP payments plus any extra savings
  • Mortgage, valuation, broker and solicitor or conveyancer fees
  • Stamp Duty Land Tax, if payable
  • Land Registry and other completion costs

Questions worth asking before you sign

  • What is the exact monthly payment, and where does it go?
  • What happens if I cannot get a mortgage at the end?
  • How is the final purchase price calculated?
  • Can the POP period be extended?
  • Who is responsible for repairs during the POP period?
  • Can I leave early, and what would it cost me?
  • What service or estate charges apply?
  • Are there restrictions on selling or subletting after I buy?

Before signing, it is worth getting independent advice — from a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, a mortgage adviser who understands affordable home ownership, and, if you want it, a surveyor.

If you're not ready

What happens if you cannot buy at the end

POP is designed so you buy the home at the end — but life changes. The agreement is honest about what happens if you cannot complete: your income might change, interest rates might rise, property values might move, or a lender might not approve the mortgage.

  • A short extension

    If the issue is temporary, you may be given a short extension to complete the purchase.

  • Another POP cycle

    You can choose to begin a further POP cycle rather than having to leave the home at the end of year three.

  • Or move out

    You can decide to move out instead, without being tied into continuing.

Be clear on this before you start. There are two outcomes: you either buy the home, or you do not — in which case your payments are treated as rent and retained by the provider under the agreement. That is why it is worth checking you have a realistic route to a mortgage before you begin.

Understand more

This page explains the idea

POP is not something you can apply for yet. If you would like to run these numbers on a different home, understand where the idea came from, or pass it on to someone else, the POP calculator page has the background and a way to get in touch.

Try the POP calculator See how POP works