Shared ownership

Shared Ownership is a home ownership scheme that helps to keep the cost of buying a new home low by enabling you to buy a share in the property and pay a subsidised rent on the share you don’t own, plus any service charges. It is designed as a step to full home ownership, allowing you to buy further shares in your property when you can afford to.

The scheme is a cross between buying and renting and allows you to buy a share in a property of the purchase price, and then pay rent on the remaining share.

You will be expected to pay a mortgage on the share you own and depending on the Shared ownership scheme, this can range from 10% to 75% of the value of the home. You will then pay an affordable rent to First Garden Cities Homes on the remaining share you don't own. In most instances, you then have an option to buy additional shares in your home until you eventually own 100%, this is what's known as 'staircasing.'

 

In 2021, a New Model Shared Ownership (NMSO) scheme was introduced and on most new schemes, the new rules and regulations around this new model of Shared Ownership will apply to newly developed or acquired First Garden Cities Homes Shared Ownership homes.  

Changes to the scheme include the following:

• The minimum initial share for purchase has been reduced from 25% to 10%
• A 10-year repair warranty has been introduced, during which the shared owner receives support from the housing provider or landlord to pay for essential repairs
• Shared owners can take control of the resales process from the landlord at an earlier point, which gives them more control over the sale of the property
• Any new leases on a new-build Shared Ownership property will have a minimum length of 990 years
• Staircasing has been made more accessible, with a new 1% gradual model that enables buyers to buy more shares in smaller instalments, with heavily reduced fees
• Buyers can now staircase in tranches of 5% rather than 10%.

These changes to the Shared Ownership scheme have not only made Shared Ownership more accessible but also improved the flexibility buyers have when it comes to staircasing.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested in Shared Ownership. We are currently updating our contact form which will appear here shortly.

If you would like to increase the proportion of the property which you own, you can buy additional shares all the way up to 100% in some cases.  This process is known as staircasing.

If you would like to staircase you can notify us by completing this form.

Form to request permission to staircase

If you want to move and sell your share in the property you are entitled to do this at any time.  You can notify us by completing this form.

Form to notify of intention to sell

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