To give up a rent-free flat for a more baby-friendly home?

I’d stay and save as much as you can whilst there. Babies don’t need much room. Save and aim to buy something when baby is a bit older and needs their own space.

Stay where you are and save like mad.
Babies don't need as much as you think. We lived in a tiny flat much like you describe (2 bedroom, walk up, very inexpensive) no great place for a pram but we managed, and stayed as long as we could.

Firstly, most of the baby clutter that is heavily marketed to you - you DO NOT NEED IT. Stick to essentials only.
When mine were small I had a secondhand pushchair/pram (it converted). However I tended to use a carrier especially when shopping/on public transport. Much easier through doors. I once took a pushchair on the train into London and instantly regretted it.

Save save save.

None if mine have had their own bedroom till they were 2. We set one up for my eldest and didn't use it. It just became the room where her clothes were kept. It was just infinitely easier having her cot in our room till she was ready for a bed. My middle two also stayed in our room till 2.5ish (can't quite remember) and our youngest is just coming up to 2 and is still happy in with us.

Think about how many years earlier you will pay off your mortgage and have money to spend on your DC/more retirement fun. In two years time you will have an 18 month old. Soooo easy and portable still - we moved when my eldest was 18 months to our "proper family home". But you'll have saved maybe 40K. That's a big deal, it'll get you much more flexibility on where you choose or a shorter mortgage term or better conditions.

You'll want a buggy thay fits in your car anyway. So you can just keep it there most of the time. Two of my four have much preferred a sling until they were old enough to sit up at 5 months, they hated the flat bassinet.

Babies really dont need much stuff. You could spend a lot of money on toys that would need storage space and they'd be much happier banging spoons on a table anyway. Toys really only become useful later on, so can wait for your forever home. It's easy to get swept up and think you need all the things that are available, but you really dont and your baby wont benefit from it.

In that case get a foldout sofa bed and change your living room to a living room on day, bedroom at night, turn your bedroom into an office for both you and your dh and somewhere to keep clothes etc. at the end of the day a bedroom is just somewhere to sleep 🤷‍♀️ then when baby is old enough to have their own room you have the little 2nd bedroom for them. You can stay like this for however long you need. And don’t listen to the numpties saying it’s a lot easier to house hunt or move without a baby! Honestly! You have family and I’m sure they’d love to help out and even if not babies can be picked up and moved easily! Children can walk! How do you think the rest of us manage with kids and housing! You are very lucky to be in this position. Put away the money every month you’d be spending on a mortgage for a £500+k house and in a few years you will have enough to buy outright your own house with no mortgage!

You absolutely don’t need a nursery - you’ll be lucky if baby sleeps in their own cot (mine didn’t and is still
in my bed!) but they have to be in your room for the first 6 months anyway. Better to have a single bed and your partner’s desk in the second room so he can work from there and you have the living room while on mat leave to come and go freely and have baby toys - plus, partner can sleep in the spare room as needed while he’s working and you’re doing night feeds!

Once you’re back at work whichever of you is more likely to need to fetch from nursery when they’re sick should work from the living room, and have a baby safe desk set up in the corner of the baby’s room - at that point you might want to move them over.

Buggy can be kept in the car - or would there be room for a bike shed out front or in the garden?

I’d save as much as possible! Babies are expensive.

I think it depends on the circumstances of whoever owned the flat. Are they
A) being exceptionally generous and forgoing £1000s in rent to help the two of you out, and will immediately rent it out commercially as soon as you leave. Or
B) so rich that it’ll just go empty if you move out as they cba the bother of renting it out

What are your childcare plans? You could end up paying over £1000 a month for nursery fees, so make sure you allow for that if you buy somewhere now.

I’d stay and save.

Realistically (if there’s a bricks-and-mortar office to go back to) I think your DH will end up working out of the home more once the baby is born as that’s going to be quite hard for him to focus.

There are lots of space-saving office ideas out there as well.

I’d stay where you are as it sounds like you’re in a great position financially plus being close to work/family. We’re up a big flight of stairs and kept the pram in the boot of the car - it was no issue at all and probably made more sense anyway.

Your DH could work in the small room to free up the living area for you while you’re on maternity leave. We had a nursery ready but it became a storage room once baby was born once we realised it wasn’t needed for quite a while. I felt a bit silly really having felt it was needed from the start. In the meantime get saving and take advantage of being able to, so you’re ready to move eventually if and when you need to. Also you never know what the future holds. We wanted 3 children but stopped at 1 in the end.

With my first, I was in a similar situation to you. Honestly, baby stuff can take up as little or as large a space as you want it too. You don’t need loads of things, if it was me in your position, I would stay put and save as much as I could and revisit this situation in a year or two’s time. Babies are in with you for a first few months, some even share after a year. That gives you a year and a half at least to save! Good luck with the pregnancy x

Stay and save, surely? You'd be mad to leave before you absolutely have to.

How much savings do you have now? Presumably you have been able to save a lot.

i would see the first maternity through with the flat to continue to save and decide once you are back and you have a proper idea as to your budgets and your cashflow

because unless you are saving 2-3k a month minimum at the moment how feasible is your plan to buy in the area

If you’re buying then buy as soon as you can, if you’re renting stay put until you can buy. Don’t leave to rent a place.

I’d stay where you are until you’re planning DC2. I don’t think house prices are on the up and you can always keep a casual eye on the market in case something perfect comes up in the interim.

Personally I would like the experience of doing the nursery up and having somewhere to store all the babies stuff.

I would stay where you are, get a babyzen yo-yo or something similarly light you can carry up stairs with one hand and a nice carrier for the baby. Enjoy being able to save money and keep an eye out for the right family home.

I wouldn’t bother with a nursery, the baby will be in the main bedroom.

Move DH’s office to the small bedroom while on maternity leave.

I would stay put until the baby is about 2 and save - you have the benefit of keeping an eye on the housing market and are good to go with no chain.

I’d stay till you’re back to work after mat leave, then get somewhere more accommodating for life with a child/children.

Congratulations! 👶🏼

If there was even the most minimal chance that the person who owns the flat might need to sell, I would want my child to have the stability of a home I own.
Circumstances change change very quickly.

Save ruthlessly for a year and then move.

Top tip - leave the buggy in the boot of the car.