What is shared ownership?

Wed 19 Apr 2023

What is shared ownership?

Shared ownership is a government scheme for affordable housing to help people get onto the property ladder such as first-time buyers and people looking to downsize their home. It is essentially part own part rent! You buy part of the property and then pay rent on the part that you don’t own.

You can also buy more shares in the property at a later date, known as ‘staircasing’. The more you own, the less rent you pay.

The government stipulates the following-

·         You can’t own any other property. If you do you would need to have an offer accepted and written confirmation of the sale agreed.

·         You must buy the highest amount of the property value- this is usually between 25%-75% property.

·         If you can afford to buy more than 75% (with cash or cash/mortgage) of the property value then you wouldn’t qualify for shared ownership.

·         If your total household income is more than £80,000 you also wouldn’t qualify.