Thousands of citizens would need several lives to be able to save and pay for the down payment on a home. It is simply unattainable. Nury Reina Portillo, 37, and her husband Antonio needed 52,800 euros to apply for a mortgage (the bank usually covers 80% of the price) and purchase an apartment worth 176,000 euros in Valencia. But the market was getting worse every month, so they decided not to wait any longer. «We tried with several banks for years, but it was impossible. We managed to save little or nothing. The prices of apartments in Valencia have increased a lot in recent years; if we waited more it was going to be worse,» says this administrative consular attaché born in Honduras. They did not know the rent-to-own model of Gradual Homes, a subsidiary of the Pryconsa group. They found it diving on the internet. In September 2025 they signed. “It gives you the option to save because part of the rental price already goes into it,” he says. A week ago Adrián Ignacio Silva finally went to the notary and closed the cycle after three years of renting with the right to purchase an apartment in the district of Tetuán (Madrid) through the company Libeen. “I feel that I would not have been able to do it otherwise, so I consider that this type of formula helps,” says this 36-year-old doctor born in Caracas (Venezuela) who has purchased alone: “The main reason was the lack of ability to save that first 20% or 25% that is needed in the traditional purchasing model and which in my case was about 57,000 euros.” He has paid 1,280 euros per month in rent, of which 385 have gone towards the purchase. The price of his apartment was 287,000 euros. This is how renting with the option to buy saves the entrance fee, the main bottleneck for thousands of citizens, even more than the monthly fee. The formula is a bridge between traditional rental and ownership that the Government is now exploring. However, it does not have great weight in Spain for now. It has never had it, except in the worst years after the burst of the real estate bubble. When it is carried out between individuals, the main problem is the uncertainty of the owner: he has to set the price in the future, so he could lose the possibility of earning more. And, in a bull market like the current one, most prefer to sell directly. “The owner does not usually offer this option initially because when he sells his house he does so for two reasons: because he needs immediate liquidity or for peace of mind,” says Jesús Duque, vice president of Alfa Inmobiliaria. Agencies put this option on the table when the tenant-future buyer does not get the mortgage or needs more time to save. But, «around 5% of owners at most say yes,» says Duque, who adds: «It is a system without traps or tricks; it is a form of deferred payment.» María Lucila Rodríguez, lawyer at Legálitas, explains that it is a lease contract to which the possibility of purchasing the property is linked at the price, time and conditions agreed upon. It is common for the tenant to have to pay a premium – an amount linked to the purchase option – that they would lose if they finally do not buy. “It is usually between 10% and 15%,” says Duque. Although the Legálitas lawyer points out: «It is necessary to negotiate the refund of such amount if the purchase option is not exercised, especially if the tenant in the end does not obtain the financing needed to acquire the property.» And, furthermore, it is possible to “agree on a system that takes into account possible price changes in the market.”
Financial muscle
The mistrust and reluctance of the owners fades when a company with financial muscle intervenes. Among the main ones are Gradual Homes and Libeen, which seek to revive the model by solving all the “buts” it has between individuals. Both offer rent with an option to buy, relying on capital from investors, they ask for an initial contribution of 5% of the price of the home as an entry fee (the deposit) and the term to purchase is up to seven years, although the right to purchase can be exercised a few years before. The client chooses the house they want to purchase in one of the large cities in which they operate, such as Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Malaga… Until the moment of sale arrives, they pay a market rent – it is the cost of living in it, Just like any lease. The important thing is that 30% of these rents are discounted from the final price. Companies set that sales price by applying an annual revaluation percentage (over seven years) that varies for each company.
Companies come into play
Gradual Homes, a subsidiary of the veteran developer Pryconsa, with decades of experience in the sector, wants to demonstrate that this alternative model works. “We have carried out more than 60 operations and 15 million euros directed to this model, with clients who have already closed the cycle, who have bought their home,” says Guillermo Estévez, general director of the company. «We see that the demand for this model is increasing. We receive around 400 weekly queries from registered and interested people.» 75% of them share the problem: lack of savings. «The main factor that makes the model attractive is accessibility. By reducing the down payment to 5% of the housing price, we break down the savings barrier and free the client from immediate financial pressure. We allow them to consolidate their financial capacity while they already reside in their future home,» he points out. An institutional investor purchases the house of the client’s choice. “Having an investor is key, since it opens the window to any home and makes it easier for the selling owner to access the sale, since it is very possible that he or she will do so in less time and with more guarantees than if the buyer has to resort to mortgage financing,” comments Estévez. The customer can purchase from the first day of the fourth year. The price limit for homes is 400,000 euros, although the manager admits that “many people are calling and are interested in a chalet worth a million euros or more in certain areas of Madrid.” To this he answers: «We were born thinking about apartments of 200,000 or 300,000 euros, which are accessed by average families who have a certain economic solidity, but do not have enough savings. Or who, having it, do not want to decapitalize so as not to be drowned, maintain their leisure, financial security for their families and children.» The company applies an annual revaluation of 5.9% to the sale price during the first three years and 1.9% for the next four. years. “The average is 3.61%, but if you subtract the 30% that is deducted from the rent, it is around 2%,” says the manager. Now, he explains: «To get that 30% discount we apply an extra deposit each year to ensure that the client manages to save.» There is no age limit (beyond that required by the bank itself to grant a mortgage) and, in fact, the model fits between separated and divorced people, a pole of strong demand in the current crisis. «The access age where we can help is already over 40 years old, even more like 45, and not so much the usual 35 that is indicated when referring to help for young people, says Estévez, who remembers that they do not allow subletting. The initial 5% deposit is an advance on the price and also works as a guarantee of the person’s real interest in entering the model. For unexpected situations (death, disability…) that prevent the execution of the purchase, the company offers a guarantee that consists of returning 50% of the amount delivered. “That is very new, generally in similar situations in a purchase the total amounts contributed would be lost,” says Estévez. The commission is assumed by the investor. “The model is 100% transparent from the beginning. «Either it is understood that we were born with the purpose of saving a social problem that is getting worse or these types of things can collide,» says Estévez. In 2025 Gradual raised 20 million in a financing round from Pryconsa, an insurance company and a mutual society.Adrián Ignacio Silva, 36, signs the sale of his home before a notary after three years of renting with Libeen. In the real estate start-up Libeen, which went public in November 2025, they are resounding. “Rent with an option to purchase is impossible to exist if a company does not do it professionally,” believes José Manuel Cartes, CEO and co-founder of the firm with Sofía Iturbe. He insists that for the model to work, capital must be raised and that it is the only way for people who were outside the system to be able to purchase. “80% of users buy in the third year and 100% of them have been given a mortgage with an average of 90% financing versus the market standard 80% thanks to the history they build with us,” he says. The company closed a financing round of 25 million in 2025 led by Andbank (through its divisions MyInvestor and Actyus), with participation from Cusp Capital and several private investors. In the case of Libeen, the user can exercise their right to purchase from the third year onwards. So far, 60 families have turned to this company, which has invested 15 million euros. “Between now and summer we will invest 18 to 20 million more and we will serve 90 more families,” says Cartes. The profile is couples with an average income of between 3,000 and 3,500 euros under the age of 40, although there are exceptions. “We buy in the main cities of Spain, not in towns,” they maintain in this company that charges the client 2,500 euros for the operation. The minimum price of the houses that are purchased is 150,000 euros and the maximum is 500,000. The revaluation percentage that the company applies to the sale price of the houses is 2.5% annually (for seven years). If in the end the client does not want to buy in the future, they allow the contract to be subrogated to another person interested in the home. “We also allow subletting in case our client wants to continue with the investment but needs to live somewhere else,” says the co-founder. If the tenant does not want to, they would lose the 5% down payment they paid.
