Shared ownership

Shared ownership is a way of buying a stake in a property if you cannot afford to buy it outright – or indeed if you want to don’t want to invest all the proceeeds of selling your current home on a new property.

Don’t be confused by the term ‘shared ownership’. It does not mean that you will share your home with anyone else – you will have sole occupancy rights. But the ownership will be shared between you and a landlord or similar company.

Shared ownership properties are usually offered for sale by housing associations (not-for-profit organisation, see Glossary). You buy a share of a property, and pay rent to the housing association for the remainder. Your monthly outgoings will include repayments on any mortgage you have taken out, plus rent on the part of the property retained by the housing association. Later, as you can afford it, you may be be able to increase your share until you own the whole property.

Over time, a number of other terms have been used to describe this kind of arrangement, including part ownership, equity share and the cumbersome ‘Leasehold schemes for the elderly’ (LSE schemes).

Find shared ownership schemes using our Advanced Search for Housing and Care Homes.