Make your next move with us.
If you’re ready to get on the property ladder but can’t quite afford to buy in your area, Shared Ownership could be just what you’re looking for!
This is a government-backed scheme where you buy a share of your home and pay rent on the remaining share. The share you can buy will range between 10% and 75%, depending on what you can afford. This means you’ll need a smaller mortgage and deposit to get you started.
Once you’ve bought your new home you can decide to buy more shares in the property. The more shares you buy, the less rent you’ll pay. You can keep doing this until you own 100% of your property.
You can take a look at our quick guide to Understanding Shared Ownership for more information or read our FAQs below.
To see how we allocate homes, please click here to see our sales policy.
Your handy shared ownership guide
To buy a home through Shared Ownership, you’ll need to meet certain criteria. We’ve put together this handy guide to help you.
What you need to know...
Our Shared Owners told us there are 5 key things they'd like to know more about at the point of buying their property - so we've pulled together this handy video to run you through them.
You can also take a look at our FAQs below for more information.
Shared Ownership FAQs
Shared Ownership allows you to buy a portion of a property, with us sharing the rest of the cost. It’s a great way for first time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder.
You’ll usually start by purchasing 50% or 75% of a home and can then staircase (buy extra shares) when you’re ready.
As well as any mortgage payments, you’ll also pay us a portion of rent for the shares that we still own in the house. As you buy more shares in your home, your rent payments to us will decrease.
Shared Ownership is an option for anyone who:
- Has cash funds to purchase an initial share or has the ability to raise a mortgage for the share
- Has a 5% deposit
- Are in employment
- Have a combined income of £80,000 or less
- Has a good credit history, no recent defaults or history of rent arrears
You’re not eligible for Shared Ownership if:
- You’re a property investor
- You want to purchase a second home
- You can buy on the open market, as assessed by affordability criteria
To see how we allocate homes, please click here to see our sales policy.
The charges you’ll pay each month will vary depending on your property and your personal situation. Generally you’ll pay:
- Your monthly rent payment to us. This will be a percentage of the value of the part of the home that we own.
- Your monthly mortgage payment, to pay back your mortgage loan.
- If you live in a property with communal areas, you’ll also pay a service charge to us for their upkeep and maintenance
- Council tax to your council to support their services in the local area
As a homeowner you’ll also be responsible for maintaining your home and any repairs that might be needed.
The rent you pay us is simply to cover the shares of your home that we still own. When you bought your home, we too will have taken out a loan to cover the percentage you don't own. The rent you pay goes towards paying that loan off as well.
For shared ownership homes, rent is capped at 3% of the value of the shares that we still own. Your rent is reviewed each year and the most it can go up by is the Retail Price Index + 0.5%. This means that the rent you pay is affected by what is going on in the external environment, such as inflation and interest rates.
The more shares you buy, the lower the rent you pay will be.
For example, on a home valued at £200,000 and sold on a 40% share, the 40% share would be £80,000 and usually funded by a mortgage. You would pay £183 to £200 per month in rent, plus your mortgage on the share you’ve bought.
Take a look at our Homes for Sale.
Complete the 'Register With Us' form for any properties that interest you.
Although you pay rent to us, as a leaseholder, you’re responsible for all repairs and maintenance to the inside and outside of your home. There is no obligation on us.
If there are communal areas, such as hallways or shared carparks, then you’ll pay a service charge for the upkeep of these.
If you’re home is a new build, you’ll be in a defects period for the first year which means the contractor who built your home will be responsible for any repairs.
A new model shared ownership lease is being introduced for homes that are built through the 2021-2026 Homes England funding programme. If you have a new shared ownership lease, then you can:
- Staircase in 1% tranches for the first 15 years of the lease
- Staircase in 5% increments (it was previously 10%)
- Buy a minimum stake of just 10% (previously 25%)
- Have a term of at least 990 years on the new leases
Changes to repairs and maintenance
In the new model:
- The landlord is responsible for external and structural repairs for the first 10 years of the lease
- Repairs will still be the owner’s responsibility, but you can apply to their landlord for a contribution towards the cost of these repairs.
- Tenants will receive a £500 allowance each year for the first 10 years to put towards general repairs that affect your heating (and hot water provision) and domestic services such as electrics, plumbing and sanitary.
You can find out more about the new model shared ownership lease here.
If you buy a brand new property, you’re in a period of defects for the first year.
This means that any repairs you need in the first year will be done by the contractor who built the houses. These can be reported to our Defects team on defects@midlandheart.org.uk
Once the defects period is over, you become responsible for all repairs.
