Shared Ownership
Making home ownership more accessible
What is Shared Ownership?
Shared Ownership is designed to make owning a home more achievable. Instead of buying the entire property outright, you can purchase a share of the property - between 25 and 75% - and pay rent on the remaining portion to the landlord. In Shared Ownership, the term "landlord" refers to a Housing Association, local Council or other organisation.
Over time, you can choose to increase your share through a process called staircasing. The bigger your share of the property, the less rent you pay. The amount you pay in rent will depend on the size of the landlord's share. Each housing association will have its own guidelines on the share sizes available and how staircasing works.
For a Shared Ownership property, your monthly payments usually include:
Your mortgage payment on the share you own
Rent on the remaining share
A service charge for upkeep of shared areas and communal services
You can buy a Shared Ownership property on the following:
a new build home
an existing home through a shared ownership resale scheme
a home that meets your specific needs, e.g. if you have a long-term disability and need a ground floor flat
All Shared Ownership property are leasehold properties.
Who can buy a Shared Ownership property?
You can buy a home through shared ownership if both of the following are true:
your household income is £80,000 a year or less (£90,000 a year or less in London)
you cannot afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs
One of the following must also apply:
you’re a first-time buyer
you used to own a home but cannot afford to buy one now
you’re forming a new household - for example, after a relationship breakdown
you’re an existing shared owner, and you want to move
you own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home that meets your needs
For some homes you may have to show that you live in, work in, or have a connection to the area where you want to buy the home.
If I already own a home, what is the process for buying a Shared Ownership property?
When you buy a shared ownership home, you must have:
formally accepted an offer for the sale of your current home (called ‘sold subject to contract’ or ‘STC’)
written confirmation of the sale agreed (called a ‘memorandum of sale’) including the price and your intention to sell
You must have completed the sale of your home on or before the date you complete buying your shared ownership home.
More detailed information on the scheme is available at : https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme