Glossary

The words we use across Rent-to-Own, Rent-to-Sell, the portal and our agreements — and what each one means.

Rent-to-Own terms Rent-to-Sell terms General property and finance terms

Rent-to-Own terms

Buyer's agency fee: PublicSquare's fee for acting as the homebuyer's buyer's agent: $15,000 to $25,000 + GST for Standard or $20,000 to $30,000 + GST for Plus, depending on the initial home value. It is paid in 260 equal weekly instalments over 5 years with no interest: the first 12 weeks when the Contract with the owner is fully signed, then the rest weekly from move-in. Other than the signing fee, no signed Contract means no fee.See also: Signing fee, Optional support
Contributionalso: Weekly contribution, Deposit contribution: The extra amount the homebuyer pays each week on top of the rent, equal to 50% of the first year's rent. It does not change for the term. It goes to the owner each week with the rent, and if the homebuyer buys, the accumulated contributions are credited to them as their deposit.See also: Listed rent, Market rent, Weekly payment
Form 6 appointmentalso: Buyer's agent appointment: The appointment a homebuyer signs electronically to appoint PublicSquare as their buyer's agent. They can sign it any time from their portal; most do it once an owner is interested. Form 6 is the Queensland appointment form.See also: Signing fee
Homebuyer: The person or household living in a Rent-to-Own home under the Contract, with the option to buy it. In the Contract and the tenancy agreement, the homebuyer is the tenant.
Independent valuation: A valuation by an independent, registered valuer at the time of sale. If it is higher than the minimum resale price, the valuation is the sale price.
Info sessionalso: Rep call: An optional call with a PublicSquare representative to explain the program and answer questions. It can be booked at any stage and is never a required step.
Initial home valuealso: IHV, Acquisition price: The value of the home at the start of the Contract. The purchase price and the minimum resale price are calculated from it. The weekly contribution is 50% of the year-one listed rent.
Listed rent: The rent a home is advertised for on realestate.com.au, set by the property manager's rental appraisal. It is the rent the homebuyer pays in year one, and the contribution is 50% of it.See also: Market rent, Contribution
Market rent: The rent the property would collect under a standard residential lease. Under the program the property manager reviews it once a year by rental appraisal, and any increase is capped at 4%, or the maximum allowed by local tenancy law if that is lower.
Minimum resale pricealso: Contracted minimum, Floor price: The lowest price at which the property can be sold to the homebuyer, set by growing the initial home value at the floor rate for the purchase year, over the completed years before that year. At sale the price is the higher of this floor or an independent valuation.See also: Floor rate, Independent valuation
Nominated sale agent: The agency named in the Contract to act on any sale of the home, usually the property manager's agency. The owner pays its commission under their usual arrangements, never the homebuyer.
Option to buyalso: Purchase option: The homebuyer's right, not obligation, to buy the home during the purchase window at the price set by the Contract.
Optional supportalso: Support fee, Customer Support and Admin Fee: Optional support from PublicSquare after the 5 years of buyer's agency fee instalments, at $22 a week including GST. The homebuyer can cancel it at any time.See also: Buyer's agency fee
Pre-approval: A quick, self-assessed signup. The homebuyer answers questions about applicants, dependants, income for their area, savings and debts. It is not a lender's credit approval and doesn't guarantee a home.See also: Pre-Approval Results and Rent-to-Own Buyer's Guide
Pre-Approval Results and Rent-to-Own Buyer's Guidealso: Pre-approval Certificate, Pre-approval Certificate & Buyer's Guide: The personalised PDF a homebuyer receives in the portal after pre-approval. It is valid for 90 days and can be renewed in the portal by confirming or updating the signup answers.See also: Pre-approval, Property application
Property applicationalso: Property proposal: A one-page application the portal creates for a home the homebuyer submits, showing the owner exactly what they would receive each week. The homebuyer sends it to the property manager with their tenancy application.See also: Listed rent, Contribution
Purchase windowalso: Exit window: From year four until three months before the end of year eight, when the homebuyer can exercise the option to buy. Most homebuyers plan to buy in year 6, 7 or 8.
Rejection letteralso: Finance rejection, Lender decline: A written statement (an email, letter or PDF) from a lender or mortgage broker saying the homebuyer’s application for a loan to buy the home was declined. To use the Sell-Back Guarantee, the homebuyer needs three, from three different lenders or brokers, each dated within 60 days of the request, after genuinely applying.
Rent-to-Ownalso: Rent-to-Buy: PublicSquare's homebuyer program. You find a home listed for rent that you'd love to buy, move in under a lease of up to eight years, pay the listed rent plus an extra 50% on top that becomes your deposit, and hold an option to buy the home at a price set by the Contract. Title stays with the owner until you buy.See also: Contribution, Option to buy, Purchase window
Representativealso: Rep: The PublicSquare team member assigned to a homebuyer for the length of their relationship with us. Reps also follow up with owners who list a property.
Signing fee: The $325 + GST ($357.50) fee a homebuyer pays when they sign their buyer's agent appointment, any time from their portal (most do it once an owner is interested). It is non-refundable and credited against the first instalments of the buyer's agency fee.See also: Buyer's agency fee, Form 6 appointment
Weekly paymentalso: Total weekly: The rent plus the contribution, paid together by direct debit into the property manager's trust account each Thursday. The homebuyer also pays PublicSquare's buyer's agency fee instalments separately.

Rent-to-Sell terms

Appraisal: An estimate of the weekly rent a property could achieve, usually provided free by the owner's agent or property manager. Under Rent-to-Sell, the yearly rent review uses the property manager's rental appraisal, capped at 4%.
Cashflow upliftalso: 50% uplift: The additional 50% extra cash flow on top of normal market rent that an owner receives under Rent-to-Sell: 50% of the first year's market rent, for the whole term.
Cashflow yield: Annual income divided by the property's value. Under Rent-to-Sell the income includes the contribution, so the cashflow yield is higher than the gross rental yield on the same property.
Contributionalso: Weekly contribution, Deposit contribution: The extra amount the homebuyer pays each week on top of the rent, equal to 50% of the first year's rent. It does not change for the term. It goes to the owner each week with the rent, and if the homebuyer buys, the accumulated contributions are credited to them as their deposit.See also: Listed rent, Market rent, Weekly payment
Defined exit: The combination of a purchase window and a minimum resale price, which gives the owner a known period and a known floor for the sale rather than an open-ended hold.
Floor ratealso: Minimum growth rate: The annual growth rate used to calculate the minimum resale price. For houses it steps down the longer the homebuyer stays: 8% for a year-four purchase, 7% for year five, 6% for year six, 5% for year seven and 4% for year eight. Lower rates may apply to apartments and townhouses.
Independent valuation: A valuation by an independent, registered valuer at the time of sale. If it is higher than the minimum resale price, the valuation is the sale price.
Info sessionalso: Rep call: An optional call with a PublicSquare representative to explain the program and answer questions. It can be booked at any stage and is never a required step.
Initial home valuealso: IHV, Acquisition price: The value of the home at the start of the Contract. The purchase price and the minimum resale price are calculated from it. The weekly contribution is 50% of the year-one listed rent.
Landlordalso: Owner: The person or entity that owns a Rent-to-Sell property. Landlords are not PublicSquare's clients and pay PublicSquare nothing.
Listed rent: The rent a home is advertised for on realestate.com.au, set by the property manager's rental appraisal. It is the rent the homebuyer pays in year one, and the contribution is 50% of it.See also: Market rent, Contribution
Market rent: The rent the property would collect under a standard residential lease. Under the program the property manager reviews it once a year by rental appraisal, and any increase is capped at 4%, or the maximum allowed by local tenancy law if that is lower.
Minimum resale pricealso: Contracted minimum, Floor price: The lowest price at which the property can be sold to the homebuyer, set by growing the initial home value at the floor rate for the purchase year, over the completed years before that year. At sale the price is the higher of this floor or an independent valuation.See also: Floor rate, Independent valuation
Nominated sale agent: The agency named in the Contract to act on any sale of the home, usually the property manager's agency. The owner pays its commission under their usual arrangements, never the homebuyer.
Option to buyalso: Purchase option: The homebuyer's right, not obligation, to buy the home during the purchase window at the price set by the Contract.
Property applicationalso: Property proposal: A one-page application the portal creates for a home the homebuyer submits, showing the owner exactly what they would receive each week. The homebuyer sends it to the property manager with their tenancy application.See also: Listed rent, Contribution
Purchase windowalso: Exit window: From year four until three months before the end of year eight, when the homebuyer can exercise the option to buy. Most homebuyers plan to buy in year 6, 7 or 8.
Rejection letteralso: Finance rejection, Lender decline: A written statement (an email, letter or PDF) from a lender or mortgage broker saying the homebuyer’s application for a loan to buy the home was declined. To use the Sell-Back Guarantee, the homebuyer needs three, from three different lenders or brokers, each dated within 60 days of the request, after genuinely applying.
Rent-to-Sell: The Rent-to-Own program from the landlord's side. The landlord rents the property to a homebuyer for up to eight years on a standard tenancy managed by their own agency, gets an additional 50% extra cash flow on top of their normal market rent, and sells to that homebuyer inside the purchase window at no less than the contracted minimum resale price. The landlord stays on title throughout and pays PublicSquare nothing.See also: Minimum resale price, Purchase window, Contribution
Representativealso: Rep: The PublicSquare team member assigned to a homebuyer for the length of their relationship with us. Reps also follow up with owners who list a property.
Weekly paymentalso: Total weekly: The rent plus the contribution, paid together by direct debit into the property manager's trust account each Thursday. The homebuyer also pays PublicSquare's buyer's agency fee instalments separately.

General property and finance terms

Cashflow yield: Annual income divided by the property's value. Under Rent-to-Sell the income includes the contribution, so the cashflow yield is higher than the gross rental yield on the same property.
Gross rental yield: Annual rent divided by the property's value, before costs.
Lenders mortgage insurancealso: LMI: Insurance a lender requires when a borrower has less than a 20% deposit. It protects the lender, not the borrower, and is paid by the borrower.
Loan-to-value ratioalso: LVR: The loan amount as a percentage of the property's value. An 80% LVR means a 20% deposit.
Settlement: The day the purchase completes: the balance is paid, and title transfers to the buyer.
Stamp dutyalso: Transfer duty: The state tax paid when a property changes hands, calculated on the purchase price. Rates and first-home concessions differ by state. Under Rent-to-Own it is paid when the homebuyer buys, not when they move in.
Title: The legal record of who owns a property. Under both programs the owner stays on title until the homebuyer buys.
Unconditional: The point at which a contract of sale can no longer be cancelled under its conditions, such as finance or building and pest.
Vendor finance: Any arrangement where the seller of a property, rather than a bank, provides some of the finance or defers part of the price, usually under an instalment contract. PublicSquare’s Rent-to-Own is not vendor finance: the homebuyer rents under a standard tenancy agreement, holds an option to buy, and buys with a bank mortgage.

Definitions are general information and summarise the agreements; the Contract wording prevails. See our editorial guidelines.