Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership is a popular part-buy, part-rent scheme for people who can’t afford to buy a home with a commercially-available mortgage.

You will initially purchase the share you can afford, usually between 25-75%, although on newer Shared Ownership homes this might be as low as 10% if this is the share level that’s affordable.

It’s backed by the government, and is a way to buy a share in a home now with the option to buy more of it in the future.

You’ll need a minimum level of income/savings depending on the value of the home you want to buy. Depending on which lender you use, the deposit can be as little as 5% of the share value.  

Click here to download a document which includes all key information about the latest shared ownership model.

How much will it cost at the start?

You will need to be able to pay the cost of the mortgage valuation or survey and legal fees. The minimum amount of savings you will need, will depend on the scheme you want to buy into.

You will also need to budget for the cost of moving home, for example hiring a van or a removals company. In most cases, buying a home also involves paying a deposit.

Every month you will need to make the following payments:

  • Your rent to Plumlife
  • Your mortgage repayment to your mortgage lender
  • A service charge and management fee for services you receive
  • Buildings insurance

    • Yes, you can buy more shares in your home or buy outright whenever you can afford to.

    With some schemes you may have to live in your home for a year before you can buy more shares. This process is called 'staircasing'.

    The amount you pay for additional shares will be based on the value of your home at the time you staircase. When you buy more shares your rent will reduce, and if you buy outright you will no longer be required to pay rent.

    To find out more about buying more shares in your home, please visit our staircasing page.

    Please visit the 'For Sale' page to start looking for a property in your area.

    You can sell your share of your home at any time. An independent survey will decide what your property is worth and the property will be sold at the current market valuation.

    We will help you do this by looking for a possible buyer on our waiting list. This should reduce the cost of selling your share. Please see our 'Selling your home' page for more information on how to sell.