A leading consumer advocacy group has called for rent-to-buy property schemes to be banned and vendor finance schemes to be brought under consumer credit law, warning that a growing number of vulnerable consumers are being put at risk as such arrangements proliferate.The Consumer Action Law Centre has released a report, Fringe Dwellings, which says that schemes targeted at people who cannot get a standard mortgage often fall over, leaving consumers exposed to losses.CALC says the number of such schemes has grown over the past decade and may have developed as a way of avoiding responsible lending, complaints handling and other requirements of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act. It describes the schemes as a "housing black market". In a rent-to-buy scheme, a buyer agrees to a property price then pays market rent, as well as an option fee to purchase the property at a future date. Other costs may include a deposit and outgoings.The buyer must refinance with a mainstream lender to buy the home when the rent-to-buy contract expires.According to the report, these schemes are targeted at people who cannot get a standard mortgage because of their low income, lack of savings or poor credit history."People who have signed up to rent-to-buy deals because they could not obtain a mainstream mortgage will find it virtually impossible to refinance. Consumer Action has seen no examples of successful rent-to-buy deals," the report said.The inability to refinance may be because the property is worth more than the buyer had anticipated, the buyer had not built up enough equity in the property or their financial situation had not improved."These schemes do not enable people who could otherwise not buy a property to achieve home ownership. They are extremely financially risky and the legal protections for buyers are grossly inadequate," the report said.In a vendor finance scheme, a buyer agrees to a property price, then pays a deposit, instalments, outgoings and, in some cases, their first home owners grant. A buyer will often need to refinance within several years and will face the same obstacles as people in rent-to-buy schemes."CALC has seen multiple examples of failed vendor finance deals. Many buyers have paid significant amounts towards what they hope will be their home, only to find that they cannot complete the purchase and lose everything."CALC said buyers face a number of risks with both schemes. The buyer is not the legal owner of the property until they pay the purchase price. The legal rights of the buyer and vendor are often very unclear.Buyers often face unknown costs, such as rate increases, cost of property repairs and penalties for missed payments. The property price may be inflated.If the vendor has a debt problem and loses possession of the property, the buyer will lose everything. CALC said many vendors were property owners in financial distress who need quick money.There are also problems with intermediaries. These include misleading advertising and representations, particularly a failure to disclose the likelihood of whether buyers will be able to refinance at