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Buying more shares in your shared ownership home

If you live in a shared ownership home, you may be able to buy more shares when you can afford to. This is sometimes called staircasing.

Why buy more shares?

The more shares you buy, the less rent you pay.

If you staircase to 100% you become an outright owner and pay no rent.

When you can buy more shares

You can usually buy more shares at any time after buying your home. Your lease will explain how and when you can do this. 

Some leases have restrictions. For example, if you live in a flat, you may not be able to buy more shares within the first year after buying your first shares in your home. Some homes, including some in rural areas, may also have a cap on how many shares you can buy.

Before applying, you’ll need to make sure you can afford to buy more shares. We recommend getting independent financial advice. Your rent account must also be up to date and stay up to date throughout the process.

How many shares you can buy

You can usually buy more shares in stages, depending on your lease. The minimum amount you can normally buy is 10% of the unsold equity, and you can normally buy shares a maximum of three times. Some leases may allow you to buy shares in one stage up to 100%, while others may limit the amount you can buy. Your lease should provide more details.

How the cost is worked out

The cost of buying more shares is based on the current market value of your home at the time you apply. We’ll arrange for your home to be valued and use this valuation to work out the cost of the additional shares.

You can get an idea of your home’s current value by looking at similar properties on property valuation websites, such as Rightmove. You can also use our calculator to estimate the value of the additional shares you may want to buy.

What happens when you buy more shares

As you buy more shares, your rent will reduce. Your service charge will stay the same.

If you buy all the shares in your home and the property is a freehold house, your solicitor will usually arrange for the freehold title to be transferred into your name. You’ll then be responsible for things like buildings insurance. Unless there is a rent charge for maintaining the estate your home is on, your relationship with us will usually end. Some properties may require a separate fee for the freehold title to be transferred.

If you live in a flat and buy all the shares in your home, you’ll still need to pay service charges. If everyone in a development of flats owns 100% of their home, we may encourage the owners to transfer the freehold to all owners as a group, if this is practical.

Costs you may need to pay

If you want to buy more shares, you’ll usually be responsible for paying:

  • the cost of having your home valued
  • your solicitor’s fees
  • our solicitor’s fees
  • stamp duty, if this applies
  • Land Registry fees, if there is a transfer to register.

If you’re planning to extend your mortgage to buy more shares, you may want to speak to your lender before you commit to any other costs.

How the process works

  1. We arrange for your home to be valued and work out the cost of the additional shares.
  2. You decide how many shares you want to buy and tell us in writing.
  3. You send us your solicitor’s details.
  4. We instruct both your solicitor and ours about your intention to buy more shares.
  5. We work with the solicitors until the purchase is complete. Our team will be available if you have any questions.

 

Want to know more?

We’re here to help you buy more shares in your home as quickly and easily as possible. If you’re interested in buying more shares, get in touch with us using the form below and we’ll explain the next steps.

Shared ownership enquiry form