Rent-to-Own (also called rent to buy) is a pathway to owning a home where you move in now, pay rent plus an extra amount each week that builds your deposit, and buy the home later at a pre-agreed pricing structure. With PublicSquare's Rent-to-Own program, homebuyers in Queensland and New South Wales find a rental they'd love to buy, move in years ahead of schedule and switch to a mortgage in years 4 to 8, backed by the owner's Sell-Back Guarantee.
For many Australians, the barrier to buying a home isn't the mortgage repayments. It's the upfront cost: the deposit, lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) and stamp duty. Rent-to-Own removes that barrier by letting you build your deposit from inside the home you intend to buy.
What Rent-to-Own Means
Rent-to-Own is an arrangement where you lease a home with a legally secured option, but not an obligation, to buy it within an agreed window. With PublicSquare, you pay the listed rent plus an extra 50% of the year-one weekly rent on top. That extra amount goes to the owner with the rent, and when you buy it's credited to you as your deposit.
PublicSquare is a licensed real estate agency (QLD Licence 4555627, NSW Licence 10152702) and acts for you as your buyer's agent. The arrangement uses standard, well-recognised legal documents: a state tenancy agreement, a Contract Between Buyer and Seller, and a Call Option Deed giving you the exclusive right to buy. Registering the lease on title is optional. It's permitted under the Contract Between Buyer and Seller, and we suggest you discuss with your solicitor whether it's right for you.
How Rent to Buy Works
Get pre-approved in a few minutes with a quick, self-assessed signup, and download your Pre-Approval Results and Rent-to-Own Buyer's Guide. Then search realestate.com.au for homes listed for rent in your areas that you'd love to buy. Submit each home in your portal and send the property manager its property application showing the owner exactly what they'd receive each week, then apply through the agency's usual tenancy application.
When an owner is interested, you appoint PublicSquare as your buyer's agent. We deal with the property manager and owner, prepare the appraisal and offer documents and handle the paperwork. After independent legal advice, you sign with the owner, sign a standard tenancy agreement and move in.
Each week you pay the listed rent plus your extra 50%, by direct debit into the property manager's trust account. Rent is reviewed each year by rental appraisal, with increases capped at 4% per review, or the maximum permitted under state tenancy law, whichever is lower. Your extra 50% never changes, so you always know how much deposit you've built. Then, from year 4, you switch to a mortgage when you're ready.
Who Chooses Rent-to-Own
PublicSquare's Rent-to-Own program is best suited to homebuyers under 50 with stable full-time employment who would otherwise qualify for a mortgage if not for the upfront costs. The signup checks:
- the number of applicants (just you, or you plus one) and dependants
- household income, against a minimum for your area
- savings of at least $10,000
- that you'll clear any personal debts before you buy
- that all applicants are under 50 and want to live in Queensland or New South Wales
It's not only for people without a deposit. Many PublicSquare homebuyers are business owners who'd rather keep capital working in their business, high earners who prefer to keep cash free for other investments, and disciplined savers who want a set path and a locked-in pricing framework instead of saving into a rising market.
How the Future Purchase Price Is Calculated
The minimum purchase price is set by applying a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to the home's initial value, based on the year you buy, and the rate steps down every year you wait:
- Buy in year 4: minimum price grows at 8% per year
- Buy in year 5: minimum price grows at 7% per year
- Buy in year 6: minimum price grows at 6% per year
- Buy in year 7: minimum price grows at 5% per year
- Buy in year 8: minimum price grows at 4% per year
The rate applies to the completed years before the year you buy, not the exact time elapsed, so the minimum price for each year can be quoted exactly in advance. By year 6 and beyond, these rates sit below the long-term national average capital growth for Australian houses of 6.8% a year (CoreLogic, 1993–2018). These rates apply to houses. Apartments typically appreciate more slowly, so they may have lower minimum growth rates in the contract. At purchase, the price is the higher of this minimum or an independent, certified valuation. There's no maximum.
What Rent-to-Own Costs
PublicSquare's buyer's agency fee is spread over 260 equal weekly instalments over 5 years, with no interest and no lump sum:
- Standard: $15,000 to $25,000 + GST in total, from $63.46 a week including GST
- Plus: $20,000 to $30,000 + GST in total, from $84.62 a week including GST
You pay a $325 + GST ($357.50) signing fee when you sign your buyer's agent appointment. It's non-refundable and credited against your first instalments. The first 12 weeks are paid when your Contract with the owner is fully signed, less that credit, and the remaining 248 instalments weekly from move-in. After 5 years, optional support is $22 a week including GST, and you can cancel any time.
Independent legal advice is required. Any solicitor typically charges $2,000 to $3,000; our pre-arranged referral is a well-respected independent law firm for $1,100 including GST. You also pay a rental bond under your standard tenancy agreement, as with any tenancy.
Each week you pay the listed rent plus your extra 50%. You pay electricity, gas, internet, contents insurance and water where lawfully charged. The owner pays maintenance and repairs, council rates, building insurance and body corporate.
The Sell-Back Guarantee
The Sell-Back Guarantee is the safety net for Rent-to-Own homebuyers. It's provided by the owner under your Contract Between Buyer and Seller.
If you can't get finance, you can request an open-market sale from year 4 by giving written notice, supported by three formal rejection letters from brokers or lenders, as long as you aren't in default. You can also keep living in the home while your finances improve.
If you request a sale, you pay a fixed $3,300 marketing cost. At settlement you receive your Exit Balance: your contributions, less any weekly payments still outstanding and any shortfall if the sale price is below your minimum price. Sale proceeds above the minimum price belong to the owner.
Rent-to-Own and Renting While Saving
Renting while saving a deposit means racing a rising market from the outside, with the ongoing risk of rent rises and forced moves. Rent-to-Own gives you a structured path inside the home you plan to buy, with up to eight years of secure housing, a locked-in minimum pricing framework and no rates, building insurance or maintenance to pay during the lease.
The weekly outlay is higher than plain renting, because you pay the listed rent plus an extra 50% on top. That extra 50% becomes your deposit.
Ready to start? Get pre-approved in minutes and start applying for homes you'd love to buy.
