Shared Ownership
- Deposit required: The size of your deposit will be determined by your mortgage provider’s terms and conditions, but it will typically range from 5% to 25% of the value of your share.
- Ownership: A leasehold interest worth between 10%-75% of the home's value (local conditions may apply)
- Headline benefits: Enables people to get on the housing ladder with a smaller mortgage and deposit.
- Headline requirements: A gross annual household income of £80,000 or less when buying outside of London, and £90,000 or less when buying in London.
Availability: England only
Overview
If you can’t afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs, Shared Ownership offers you the chance to buy an initial share of a home worth between 10% and 75% of its market value. You will pay rent to the housing provider on the rest.
You can buy more shares in your home in the future, as and when you can afford to do so. This is known as ‘staircasing’. If you buy more shares, you’ll pay less rent. The amount of rent you pay will be based on the size of the share of the home you have not bought.
In April 2021, the government launched a new model of Shared Ownership. As part of the new model, we have:
- Reduced the size of the minimum share required for purchase from 25% of a property’s market value to 10%. You will still be required to purchase the maximum share size you can afford
- Introduced a 10-year period during which your housing provider will be required to support you with the cost of essential maintenance and repairs to your home
- Lowered the size of the minimum share you can purchase through staircasing from 10% of a property’s market value to 5%
- Introduced a new form of staircasing that allows you to purchase an extra 1% of your home every year
- Provided you with more control over when you sell your home.
New model Shared Ownership homes have already come onto the market. However, old model Shared Ownership homes are still available. As a result, it is important to check which model you are applying for.
Eligibility
You could buy a home through Shared Ownership in England if:
- your household earns £80,000 a year or less when you’re buying outside of London, or £90,000 a year or less when you’re buying in London
- you are a first-time buyer, you used to own a home but can’t afford to buy one now or are an existing shared owner looking to move.
With Shared Ownership you can buy a newly built home or an existing one through resale programmes from housing associations. You’ll need to take out a mortgage to pay for your share of the home’s purchase price, or fund this through your savings. Shared Ownership properties are always leasehold.
Only military personnel will be given priority over other groups through government funded Shared Ownership schemes. This priority will apply when there is an undersupply of Shared Ownership homes in a local area. However, councils with their own shared ownership home-building programmes may have some priority groups, based on local housing needs.
Buying through Shared Ownership is a financial commitment. For example, you may lose your home and the money you put into it if you do not pay your rent. Therefore, we recommend that you read more information about the conditions of the Shared Ownership scheme by clicking here.
How to apply
