Most shared ownership leases allow you to buy extra shares in your home. This is sometimes called 'staircasing'. Some leases do not allow staircasing or may set a limit on the maximum share you can own. Refer to your lease or contact us if you are unsure if you can buy extra shares.
Your lease will tell you what size shares you can buy. Most leases say that the smallest size of extra share that you can buy is 10%. If you buy all of the remaining shares, you will own your home outright.
If you buy extra shares, we will charge you less rent. The rent that you pay is based upon the share of your home that we own. The amount of service charge that you pay will not change unless you become the 100% owner.
Your home will be valued before you can buy extra shares. An independent valuer sets the value. You will be responsible for the valuation fees. The valuer will assume that the property is well maintained and will exclude the value of improvements that you have made. This means that the price that you pay for the extra share excludes the cost of any improvements that you have made.
We will let you know in writing the value of your home and how much the extra shares will cost, so that you can decide whether to proceed. You must let us know in writing. If you decide to proceed, you will need to appoint a solicitor. You will also need to raise money to pay for the extra share; this could come from your savings or from an additional mortgage.
Completion must take place within three months of the valuation.
Please contact us for further information and detailed guidance.
Buying extra shares and immediate resale
If you sell on the open market, your purchaser may want to buy your home outright. So you will need to buy the remaining shares in your home first.
Your solicitor will arrange for you to sell your home on the same day that you buy the remaining shares so that you do not need to raise money to buy the extra shares.
You must tell your solicitor and us if you need to buy the remaining shares in your home before you sell.
Buying all of the shares in your home
If you buy all the remaining shares in your home, you will own the home outright.
If you live in a house, you will usually become the freeholder of your own home. We will cease to be your landlord. You are responsible for providing your own buildings insurance. If you house is on a development with communal gardens or other shared areas, we will continue to charge you a share of the cost for maintaining these areas through your service charge.
If you live in a flat, you will remain a leaseholder. We will be the landlord. As a flat owner, you will continue to pay service charges for things like buildings insurance, cleaning of common parts and repairs to the structure and common parts of your block.
