A developer fighting the housing slump has decided to let out its new Kent homes just to get people living in them.

Speaking as the Council of Mortgage Lenders announced a sharp drop in the number of mortgages arranged, Oakdene Homes said cash-strapped young professionals could now simply rent the cottages that went on sale a month ago at the Clockhouse Mews development at the Swaylands estate, Penshurst.

And at the 24-home New Aspects development at Edenbridge, launched in October last year, would-be first-time buyers can rent the two to four bedroom properties under the same "rent now, buy later" scheme, called Purchaser Prospect.

Jenny Graham, spokesman for Surrey-based Oakdene Homes, said she believed the idea, which allows people to rent for an initial period of one year, was unique in the UK.

She said: "This is a helping hand for buyers. Because of the struggling market, buyers are looking for new incentives. We don't know of any other builder operating a 'rent now, buy later' scheme like this."

At the Clockhouse Mews development, prices to buy a cottage start at £425,000.

Now, someone wishing to rent there, complete with listed rockery, two lakes and tennis courts could do so for between £1,800 and £2,230 a month.

At New Aspects in Edenbridge, where the purchase price ranges from £194,950 bedroom apartment to £369,950 for a four-bedroom townhouse, people can now rent for between £725 and £1100.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said gross mortgage lending declined to £23.8 billion in June, down 32 per cent from June 2007.

Full story in August Kent Business.