Couple find their own home through London Living Rent with L&Q

Name: Adrian and Paulina

Job: Construction Worker and Cleaner

Type of home: One-bedroom apartment

Deposit: £1,154.27

Monthly rent: £1,150 – saving roughly £500-600

With their first child on the way, Adriana and Paulina needed to find a space of their own for their growing family, and fast.

Adrian explains, “we had been privately renting with a friend for two years, but when we learnt that we were expecting, we began our journey to find somewhere that would just be for us, and a base for our new family, in time for when the baby arrived.”

“We’d heard of London Living Rent before, so when we saw a Facebook advert about L&Q’s homes available through the scheme, we were eager to find out more. We were previously paying £1,650 per month, but the starting price from around £1,150 seemed like such a good chance for us to properly start building up some savings towards a house deposit and the future.”

London Living Rent (LLR) is a government scheme designed as a stepping stone towards homeownership. Eligible customers can rent a home at a discounted rate, whilst saving the difference towards a deposit, which can be used to purchase a home through Shared Ownership or on the open market.

“We had been living in East London, close to a DLR station previously,” Paulina adds. “We wanted somewhere with good transport links into central London where we work, which is why we were so excited when we discovered that L&Q had LLR homes available at Barking Riverside – a growing community with its own train station, Thames Clippers Pier and good schools.”

Situated on the banks of the River Thames, Barking Riverside is a flourishing neighbourhood in East London, with an array of impressive facilities and social infrastructure projects being delivered alongside new homes.

Speaking about the application process, Adrian comments, “we weren’t in a financial position to be able to buy yet, but we also wanted to make sure our money was being invested into our future. London Living Rent was an amazing opportunity for us to have our first home as a family, whilst putting away savings to ultimately buy.”

The couple had their first viewing at Barking Riverside in mid-May 2024, and were impressed by the light-filled, spacious LLR apartments on offer with L&Q.

Paulina says, “the homes were lovely and bright, with open-plan living spaces and plenty of storage. It was the first development we viewed, and we knew it was the place for us because of the transport connections, modern apartments and family-friendly environment. We were keen to get going on the application process and get settled before our new arrival.”

Having completed their eligibility checks, Adrian and Paulina were approved for their new one-bedroom London Living Rent home at Barking Riverside, with a deposit of just under £1,350. The couple moved in after just one month.

Since moving in, the pair have had time to explore their new neighbourhood. Adrian comments, “the development is fantastic for families – we can walk along the riverfront, which will be lovely for taking the baby out. There’s also a really welcoming community already established here, and a full events programme with lots of family-friendly things going on, including parent and toddler groups.”

Reflecting on their journey as London Living Rent customers, Adrian says, “it was a really big decision for us, and we needed the scheme to work out so that we could make our first step onto the property ladder towards our future. Our experience with the L&Q LLR team was very positive – even when there were confusing parts of the eligibility process, they were helpful and friendly.

“We would definitely recommend LLR to our friends – it allows you to save more money each month, and really start your property journey. We’re hoping we’ll be able to buy a home in a few years, but for now we’re just excited to for the arrival of our child.”

Couple find their own home through London Living Rent with L&Q, in time for a new arrival