Shared ownership homes: buying, improving and selling
Who can apply
You can buy a home through shared ownership if both of the following are true:
- your household income is £80,000 a year or less (£90,000 a year or less in London)
- you cannot afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs
One of the following must also be true:
- you’re a first-time buyer
- you used to own a home but cannot afford to buy one now
- you’re forming a new household - for example, after a relationship breakdown
- you’re an existing shared owner, and you want to move
- you own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home that meets your needs
For some homes you may have to show that you live in, work in, or have a connection to the area where you want to buy the home.
Check if you’re eligible to buy a home through shared ownership.
If you own a home
When you buy a shared ownership home, you must have:
- formally accepted an offer for the sale of your current home (called ‘sold subject to contract’ or ‘STC’)
- written confirmation of the sale agreed (called a ‘memorandum of sale’) including the price and your intention to sell
You must have completed the sale of your home on or before the date you complete buying your shared ownership home.
Older people
If you’re aged 55 or over at the time of buying the home, you can buy up to a 75% share through the Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme. Once you own 75%, you will not pay rent on the rest.
Disabled people
You can apply for a scheme called home ownership for people with a long-term disability (HOLD) if other scheme properties do not meet your needs. For example, if you need a ground floor home.
Priority for members of the armed forces
Sometimes several households make an offer on a home at the same time. Your offer will be prioritised if you’re a serving member of the armed forces.
Your offer may also be prioritised if you previously served in the armed forces. It depends on what your role was.