Once you’ve bought your new shared ownership property, you’ll be what’s known as a leaseholder. This means that you have the right to occupy a property for a set period which is written in your lease agreement but do not own the building itself.
However, some properties may always be leasehold (this typically applies to apartments where there are communal grounds and communal services provided or where the freehold is owned by a local authority.
Your lease is the legal contract which sets out yours and our legal rights and responsibilities.
If you need help understanding the terms of your lease, please contact us.
This is known as ‘staircasing’ – when you choose to buy some or all of the remaining shares in your property.
You can find out more about staircasing here.
You'll need to cover the cost of RICS valuation and you'll need to seek independent legal advice if you wish to proceed.
You’ll also need to have the funds to complete the transaction and a mortgage agreed in principle.
If you think you might need a lease extension because yours has less than 80 years left, please contact one of our leasehold officers who’ll be happy to help you.
It can be costly to extend your lease so it’s best that we work with you to understand your personal circumstances before exploring this route.
If we own the freehold of your property, you'll be able to extend your lease by the existing terms plus 90 years. If we don't, this may not be possible.
If you’re thinking about selling your property you’ll need to get in touch with us and let us know. We’ll send you a re-sales pack which has lots of useful information on selling your shared ownership property.
You can find out more information about selling on your home here.
This information is only for those that have bought homes built through the 2021-2026 Homes England funding programme.
The new model shared ownership lease gives you £500 per year to use towards the cost of general repairs. You’re still responsible for getting these repairs done to your home but you’re able to make a claim for up to £500 towards the cost of your repairs.
Find out more information about new model shared ownership homes here.
If you live at any other shared ownership scheme, please refer to the leasehold handbook below.
Reporting repairs
Under the terms of your lease, you’re responsible for any necessary repairs to your own property. We’re responsible for repairs to the building structure of apartment blocks, communal areas and equipment, the cost of this is covered in your service charge.
You can find more about this in the Leaseholder Handbook and by visiting our initial repair period webpage:
If you live in a house then you are usually responsible for all repairs and maintenance related to your home, whether that's inside or outside.
However, we may be responsible for some communal areas which you'll be paying a service charge towards. These may include unadopted roads and open spaces.
We know that finding the right tradesperson to deal with a repair can be challenging. We would recommend using reputable companies. You can find the government-endorsed trades website ‘Trustmark’ by clicking here.
To report a communal repair, please call 0345 60 20 540.
Your lease will explain fully which repairs you are responsible for and which repairs we are responsible for. You will normally be responsible for the interior of your home.
To report a communal repair, please call 0345 60 20 540, or if you are unsure about who is responsible for repairs.
Under the New Model Shared Ownership lease, you’re entitled to £500 per year towards the cost of general repairs. You can find more information on that here.
Your handy leaseholder handbook
We've created a leaseholder's handbook which should answer any questions you might have on your shared ownership property
What you need to know...
Our Shared Owners told us there are 5 key areas about Shared Ownership they'd like to know more about - so we've pulled together this handy video to run you through them.
You can also take a look at our information below for some more key topics.
- My Service Charge
- Insurance (Building and Contents)
- Communal Grounds Maintenance
- Can I rent my property out
- What Financial Support can I access
- How do I give my feedback
The service charges you pay each month will depend on what sort of property you live in.
Your Service Charge is a variable service charge which means we can change the amount you pay by giving you 1 months’ notice. However it’s really unlikely that your Service Charge amount would change during the year. We usually review them each year in April.
Your Service Charge is calculated based on known or estimated costs for the upcoming year. Where exact costs are not known, we’ll base it on what we reasonably think it will be using past trends, past years’ spend or estimated upcoming spend.
At the end of each Service Charge year (normally the end of March) we’ll calculate the real spend and see whether you overpaid or underpaid for any services. This helps us plan better for the next year.
Some of the items that make up your Service Charge might be for the upkeep of open spaces away from your home which another company/managing agent provides. In those cases, we will be implementing the costs they set in your service charge and cannot overrule/amend the amount.
Keeping your personal items (contents) insured is really important in case they become damaged or get stolen. It’s your responsibility to insure your own belongings. To help with this, we've teamed up with Royal & Sun Alliance to provide low-cost contents insurance specifically for you. Take a look at this offer here.
We insure the building on your behalf. More information about the Building Insurance cover can be found here.
If you make a claim on the building’s insurance, you’ll need to pay the excess related to that claim. We arrange for the building’s insurance cover to be in place, we don’t manage the claims on your behalf. This is because you’re best placed to let the insurers know about issues and organise appointments etc with them.
If you have any difficulties making an insurance claim or after you’ve claimed, you can get in touch with us on 0345 60 20 540 and we’ll be able to help you.
We work with grounds maintenance contractors to maintain any shared communal areas.
The number of visits they pay each year and what they do at each visit will change depending on the service you have and the time of year. For example, they tend to visit more often throughout spring and summer compared to autumn and winter.
For further details please visit our Communal areas webpage.
If you have any questions or concerns about your grounds maintenance service please get in touch with us on 0345 60 20 540.
Renting out (sub-letting) your home is not allowed. It’s a serious breach of your lease and could result in legal action being taken by us.
Shared Ownership is a model of home ownership with is for households on lower incomes and first-time buyers. As public money is used to help build the properties, we need to make sure they’re kept only for those who meet the criteria. This is why sub-letting is not allowed.
If you are struggling to pay your rent or other bills then we have a Money Advice Service which all our shared owners can access for free.
Listening to your views means that we can shape the services we provide based on your feedback and give you a better experience.
We have a focus group made up of Shared Ownership residents. If you’d like to register your interest in joining this focus group and sharing your views then please contact our tenant scrutiny team at: customerscrutiny@midlandheart.org.uk or phone: 0345 60 20 540.
