Shared ownership houses for sale | What is shared ownership?

How does it work?

Eligibility

Staircasing

Considerations

Shared ownership houses

Shared ownership

Lewisham

by Square Roots

Lewisham, Greater London, SE13 7BJ

1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments and 2 bedroom duplexes

£103,750 - £172,500 for a 25% share
(£415,000 - £690,000 Full Market Value)

A place to call home, Square Roots Lewisham truly offers the perfect work-life balance. Discover the exclusive collection of 141, one, two and three bedroom apartments and duplexes just a 7-minute walk from Lewisham Station. The easily walkable train and DLR rail links provide a swift hop into the heart of London, connecting you to all the cultural highlights of the capital. Lying next to the Ravensbourne River, every home will benefit from a private balcony or terrace. Residents on the upper floors will have views across the famous London skyline whilst others will look out onto newly-landscaped gardens below. Move in from this spring

Shared ownership

Artemis View

by Bovis Homes

Margate, Kent, CT9 4LA

3 bedroom houses

£144,000 - £187,875 for a 50% share
£288,000 - £375,750 Full Market Value

This exciting new homes development is on the edge of the historic Kent seaside resort of Margate in the district of Thanet, a town that combines traditional charm with contemporary culture. Artemis View benefits from an ideal location in Thanet, with many amenities on your doorstep like Westwood Cross Shopping centre and a number of different coastal towns to choose from like Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate and neighbouring the village of Manston. You are also only 10 minutes away from the new Thanet Parkway train station which offers a regular service into London in 70 minutes, making the capital easily accessible.Margate's iconic sandy beaches, vintage amusement park, seafront restaurants, Harbour Arm and Turner Contemporary art gallery, are about 2 miles away to the north. Head 2 miles to the South and you will find the quintessential seaside town of Broadstairs, which is popular for its sandy beaches, cliff top walks and 1950's ice cream parlour.Our range of 2,...

Shared ownership

Sunningdale Park

by Gascoigne - Pees

Sunningdale, Berkshire, SL5 0AR

1 & 2 bedroom apartments

£105,625 - £158,125 for a 25% share
(£422,500 - £632,500 Full Market Value)

Welcome to Sunningdale Park, an exclusive new collection of one and two-bedroom homes uniquely nestled in 47 acres of picturesque parkland. Experience a lifestyle perfect to unwind in with nature walks right on your doorstep. Every home is finished to a high specification, with private on-site parking and AEG appliances. Find Ascot and Windsor within easy reach, where you can benefit from the Racecourse and Great Park. Set between Sunningdale and Ascot, your new home is situated in an idyllic countryside setting. You'll also benefit from a fantastic range of local amenities nearby, including prestigious golf courses and leisure facilities. Looking to travel further afield? Nearby Sunningdale station connects you to London in under an hour. Become a part of the local community at the nearby David Lloyd and leisure centres. Spend the weekends enjoying Ascot's cinemas and theatres. World-class spa hotels and restaurants such as Coworth Park and Penny Hill will be just a short drive away. *The Shared Ownership scheme is a Part Buy, Part Rent way of owning your own home for a smaller upfront payment. With Shared Ownership, you buy a share of your home using a mortgage from a bank or building society and pay a subsidised rent on the share you did not purchase. The combined mortgage and rent is usually less than you’d expect to pay if you bought a similar property outright. When you’re ready, you can buy more shares until you staircase to owning 100% of your home. Please note, as a Shared Ownership purchase there are likely to be additional legal fees during the conveyancing process, your solicitor can advise you of these.

Shared ownership

How does Shared ownership work?

Shared ownership allows you to buy a share of a new house and pay rent on the remaining part. It is a government-backed incentive scheme, primarily aimed at helping first time buyers onto the property ladder. You can also use it to buy a bigger home than you can afford on the open market.

The percentage you can purchase may be different depending on where you buy the home:

In England, you can buy shares of between 10% and 75% of the full market value
In Scotland, you can buy a 25%, 50% or 75% share
In Wales, you can buy shares of between 25 and 75% of what the home is worth

Shared ownership is also known as ‘part-buy, part-rent’.

You will purchase your shared ownership property via a housing association or council. The home will be a new build or a re-sale of an existing shared ownership property, of which you’ll need to purchase the same percentage of shares as the existing owner, or more.

You will need a deposit and a mortgage on your share of the property that you are buying. The remaining share is owned by the housing association or council, and you will pay rent comprising up to 3% of this amount.

Although the housing association may have shares of up to 90% in your home, you will become the owner of the lease. As the leaseholder, you will be responsible for repairs inside the property and the housing association will take care of the outside.

To cover any costs that might be necessary for outside work, you will need to pay a service charge, usually paid monthly. It is a good idea to find out how much the service charge is and factor that into all monthly outgoings before you agree to buy.

Shared ownership eligibility

In England, this scheme is available to those in a household with a combined income of less than £80,000 a year (or £90,000 in London), and you are unable to afford a deposit and mortgage payments on a suitable property for you and your family. In Wales, you must have a combined income of less than £60,000.

There are other criteria you must meet, such as:

being a first time buyer, or
if you used to own a home but can no longer afford to buy outright, or
you want to move from one shared ownership property to another, or
you're setting up a new household, for example after a relationship breakdown, or
you currently own a home, and wish to move but cannot afford to buy outright.

You will also need to have no outstanding credit issues, so make sure you get your finances in order before you apply.

Criteria varies by country, so be sure to check before applying.

A development of Shared Ownership homes in England

What is Staircasing in Shared ownership?

You can buy additional shares of your home, usually in increments of 10%, until you own the majority or all of your home. Some older leases set the minimum amount at 25%, and newer ones may allow you to buy as little as 5% at a time. There are some instances where you may be able to buy 1% shares.

This process is called staircasing and allows you to own more of your home as you earn more money or can afford a bigger mortgage. Each time you wish to purchase more shares, these will be based on the value of the home at the time of buying the shares, and not the value of your home when you first bought it.

You will need to pay for a professional valuation of your property to determine the value of the shares before you can buy them. Buying more shares in your home will also mean paying less rent.

Things to consider before buying a Shared ownership home

There are other factors which may impact your decision on whether shared ownership is right for you:

You will still need a deposit for the mortgage portion of your home, usually between 5% and 10% of the value of the mortgage.
All usual moving fees apply including surveys, stamp duty and legal costs.
If you’re aged 55 or over, you may be eligible for Older People’s Shared ownership (OPSO) but bear in mind, you will only be able to own up to 75% of your home.
If you are a key worker, then a percentage of properties through housing associations will be allocated to those who work for the NHS, police, local authorities, Ministry of Defence and many more. Ask the housing association for more information.

Useful links

Find out more about shared ownership in England

Find out more about shared ownership in Scotland

Find out more about shared ownership in Wales

Shared ownership providers

The following housing associations and developers have shared ownership properties available throughout the UK which you can enquire via this website: