Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership is designed for people who cannot afford to buy a home outright on the open market. You buy a share of a property using your deposit and a mortgage, and pay a subsidised rent to a housing association on the share you do not own. Over time, you can buy additional shares (known as staircasing) until you own the property outright.

• Household income must not exceed £80,000 per year, or £90,000 in London
• You must be unable to afford to buy a suitable home on the open market
• First time buyers are prioritised, but the scheme is also open to previous homeowners who can no longer afford to buy, and existing shared owners looking to move
• Some schemes give priority to people with a local connection, key workers, or military personnel
• You must pass an affordability assessment and have no outstanding mortgage or rent arrears

The monthly cost of shared ownership is not just your mortgage payment. You need to budget for all of the following.

• Mortgage repayments on the share you own
• Rent on the share owned by the housing association, typically 2.75% of their share per year
• Service charges for maintenance of communal areas, buildings insurance, and ground maintenance
• Buildings and contents insurance (buildings insurance is usually included in service charges for flats; houses may require separate cover)
• Staircasing costs when buying additional shares: RICS valuation fee, solicitor fees, and potentially a new mortgage arrangement fee

• Lower deposit than buying outright (typically 5% to 10% of your share, not the full property value)
• A route onto the property ladder when open market purchase is not affordable
• Ability to staircase to full ownership over time
• Under the 2021 model, housing association covers essential repairs for 10 years
• Government backed through housing associations

• Rent on the unowned share increases annually, often above inflation
• Service charges can be significant and tend to rise over time
• Restrictions on selling: the housing association usually has nomination rights and the first right to find a buyer
• Limited mortgage lender choice compared to open market purchases
• Staircasing requires a new valuation each time, and the property value may have increased significantly

OPSO is shared ownership designed for buyers aged 55 or over. You can buy between 10% and 75% of the property. Once you reach 75%, you stop paying rent on the remaining 25%, but you never own 100% under OPSO. Income caps still apply (broadly £80,000 outside London and £90,000 in London, as at July 2026), you must be unable to buy a suitable home outright, and you must sell any existing home as part of the purchase.

• Service charges on OPSO schemes are often higher than on ordinary leasehold flats because many include on-site management, wellbeing calls or care support. Ask for the last three years of service charge accounts.
• Resale can be slower than on the open market. The housing association usually has a nomination period to find a buyer first.
• You are still a leaseholder, so lease length, ground rent history and any recent Section 20 notices for major works all matter.

HOLD operates on the same shared ownership principles but is designed for people whose disability means standard shared ownership properties do not meet their needs. It allows you to buy a suitable home on the open market using shared ownership terms. The mortgage on your owned share can sometimes be supported by the government's Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme, which is a repayable loan. Military personnel are prioritised under HOLD.