Can You Buy the Home You're Renting With No Deposit? Understanding Concessionary Purchases in 2026
The short version
If your landlord is selling up and you've been served a Section 21 notice, there's something worth knowing before you start looking elsewhere. In some cases you can buy the property you're already living in, sometimes at a discount, and sometimes without a traditional cash deposit. It's called a concessionary purchase. It's not available in every situation but it's more achievable than most people realise. Read on for the full picture.
If you've just received a Section 21 notice, you're probably focused on finding somewhere else to live. But before you do that, it's worth asking your landlord one question.
Would they consider selling to you directly?
You might be surprised by the answer.
What is a concessionary purchase?
A concessionary purchase is when a property is sold below its market value, usually directly from a landlord to their existing tenant.
Landlords do this for a few reasons. It's a quicker sale. There are no estate agent fees. No viewings, no chain complications, no uncertainty about who's buying. For a landlord who wants to exit cleanly and quickly, selling to the person already living there is often the easiest option all round.
For the tenant, the discount on the purchase price can sometimes act in place of a traditional deposit. Which means in the right circumstances, you could buy your home without having a cash deposit saved at all.
Can You Buy the Home You're Renting With No Deposit? Understanding Concessionary Purchases in 2026
Why is this especially relevant right now?
Thousands of Section 21 notices were served across England on 30 April 2026, the last day landlords could legally use them before the Renters Rights Act abolished them entirely.
A lot of those landlords served notices because they want to sell. They're not evicting tenants out of spite, they're exiting the market. And if they want a quick, clean sale with no estate agent fees and no awkward chain, selling to the tenant who already lives there is actually an attractive option for them too.
So if you've received a notice in the last week, the conversation is worth having. The worst your landlord can say is no.
How does it actually work with a mortgage?
This is where it gets specific.
Some lenders will consider a concessionary purchase and treat the discount as equity in the property. So if a property is worth £200,000 and your landlord agrees to sell it to you for £180,000, that £20,000 discount represents 10% equity.
In theory that could mean no cash deposit required.
In practice it depends entirely on the lender. Not all of them will consider this arrangement. Those that do will still carry out a full valuation, assess your affordability properly and check your credit profile. The discount has to be genuine and documented. A verbal agreement won't be enough.
What do you actually need to make this work?
A few things need to line up:
Your landlord needs to be genuinely willing to sell below market value and confirm that in writing. The figure needs to be real, not just a vague conversation.
An independent valuation is required to confirm the actual market value and establish what the discount actually is.
Your income and affordability still need to stack up. The lender is still lending you money and they need to be confident you can repay it.
Your credit history still matters. A concessionary purchase doesn't bypass the normal checks.
None of this is impossible. It just needs to be done properly.
What if your landlord wants full market value?
Then a concessionary purchase isn't the route. But buying the property could still be possible through a standard mortgage if you've got a deposit saved.
And if buying the property you're in isn't viable, it might still be the trigger to explore whether buying somewhere else is achievable. We've covered both the borrowing side and the deposit side in our other posts…
👉 I've Just Been Served a Section 21 Notice. How Much Mortgage Can I Get?
👉 How Much Deposit Do You Need to Buy a House on the Wirral in 2026?
Is this common on the Wirral?
It does happen, and it's happening more frequently right now. The combination of the Renters Rights Act, the changes to buy to let taxation over recent years and rising mortgage rates have pushed a lot of landlords toward selling up.
If your landlord is one of them, you might be in a better position than you think.
The bottom line
Buying the home you're already renting is possible in the right circumstances. It's not guaranteed and it's not always straightforward. But for some people who received a Section 21 notice last week, it's a genuinely viable route into homeownership that they hadn't even considered.
Ask the question. Find out if the numbers work. It costs nothing to have the conversation.
⚠️ Important information This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Mortgage lending is subject to status, valuation and individual lender criteria. Not all lenders offer concessionary purchase products and acceptance is not guaranteed. Always seek professional advice before making financial decisions.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.