FAQs

The GLA and Homes England set the eligibility criteria for Shared Ownership, but broadly speaking you must:

• Not own another property in the UK or any other country.
• Have a household income that falls below £90,000 (£80,000 threshold outside the M25). Every property will have a minimum income level too, determined by its’ value, rent and service charge costs. In most cases you will need to meet or exceed the given minimum income.
• Have access to a minimum deposit of 10% of the share being purchased (a minimum deposit of 5% of the share being purchased may be acceptable depending on individual financial status).
• Be in full time permanent employment.
• Be a British, EU or EEA Citizen or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
• Have a good credit history.
• Have sufficient funds for legal fees, mortgage arrangement fees and stamp duty.

View our current available Shared Ownership properties here and when you find one you like, just complete the application form (the link to this is on the page of the advert) and submit. Call us on 0333 016 6560, if you have any questions about the application. If the property is marked as ‘under offer’ it is no longer available.

Do’s and Don’ts when completing your application…

• Married or cohabiting couples must add their partner as a second applicant whether they are going on the mortgage or not.
• Your gross annual salary figure must be separate to your gross annual bonus, overtime etc. figure. Do not add the two figures together.
• If your partner is employed do add their salary figures under the ‘second applicant’ section. Do not add their salary to additional monthly income.
• Additional monthly income is for things like working tax credits, child tax credits, child benefit, disability allowance, guaranteed maintenance income. Do make sure the figure provided is per month.
• If you are self‐employed please put your gross profit not your turnover and be aware you will need to provide two years’ company accounts and SA302 documents for assessment.
• If you are on a fixed term contract, you need to have been employed for at least 12 months.

Unfortunately, not; we must check that you are eligible before inviting you to a viewing. This saves time for all parties involved.

When you submit your application you will receive an automated reply explaining what the next steps are. If you don’t receive this please check your junk/spam mail and add us to your safe senders list. If we have a query regarding the content of your form, your eligibility for the scheme, or affordability for the property, we will revert to you as soon as processed. If you are eligible, your application will be held until a viewing event has been arranged (typically within a week to ten days) and we will contact you again with an invitation to view. We kindly ask you do not attempt to make a separate viewing request, either online or by telephone. Submission of your application form is treated as a viewing request.

If you are not eligible, we will send you an email (typically within two working days) explaining why you are not eligible. Remember to always double check you have completed your application correctly. A copy of your answers will be sent to you when you submit your application. If you have a larger deposit this can make a difference if your household income isn’t quite sufficient (please refer to the guideline minimum income on the advert), so make sure you have included the maximum deposit available. This means that we won’t rule you out for a property that you could potentially afford.

After the viewing we will email you an Offer to Purchase (OTP) template. If you would like to formalise your application to purchase, simply complete the document before the deadline (usually 48hrs), after which, any OTPs received will be prioritised by the Housing Association in according with their prioritisation policy. We’ll let you know your priority position on the next working day after the deadline and if you are priority position 1, you will have two days to reserve the property by transferring a £400 administration deposit. You will also be required to contact the Housing Association’s financial advisor, to ensure the property is affordable to you. You will need to submit the following as part of the affordability check:

• 3 Months’ pay slips
• 3 Months’ bank statements
• Proof of savings/deposit (e.g. savings account statement. If gifted deposit, please
• also provide a letter from the benefactor)
• Passport/Photo ID (full colour copies)
• 2 Years company accounts (if self‐employed) plus SA302 tax certificates

If you are not priority position 1 we will hold your application on our system until the
property is sold (unless you request to withdraw your application).

No – this is a common misconception but the ‘shared’ aspect of the scheme simply means you’re sharing ownership of your home with a housing association.

If you decide to buy a Shared Ownership home, you’re effectively purchasing a portion of your property. Your initial share will usually be between 25% to 75%, paying a mortgage on the part that you own and a below market value rent on the remaining share.

Yes – Shared Owners can choose to buy additional shares in their property by ‘staircasing’.

When buying a Shared Ownership home, you will initially purchase a minimum percentage somewhere between 25% to 75%. Down the line, if you find that your financial circumstances have changed, buyers will have the option to buy more shares.

If you choose to buy a higher percentage, your mortgage repayments will increase while the rent you pay will decrease. In the majority of cases there aren’t any restrictions and you can buy 100% of your home – in this instance, you would become the outright owner.

As a home-buying product aimed at helping those who can’t afford to purchase a property on the open market, there are certain requirements that buyers will need to meet to be considered eligible for Shared Ownership.

For example, there are caps on household income which means that you must earn less than £80,000 to be eligible for the scheme – or less than £90,000 if you would like to buy a home in London. The criteria also states that buyers must be at least 18 years of age and do not own another property either in the UK or abroad.

Shared Ownership properties enable you to put down a smaller deposit compared to those required on the open market – buyers will usually need to put down 5% to 10% of the share that they’re buying, rather than the full market value of the home.

On a monthly basis, buyers will be required to pay their mortgage, a subsidised rent and service charge on their home, however, these repayments often work out cheaper than or equal to renting privately in the same area. Other costs to consider when buying a home include solicitor and mortgage broker fees – you can find out more about these costs on Share to Buy.

All Urban Moves properties are listed here. Should we not have something you are looking for then Share to Buy lists thousands of Shared Ownership homes all across the country – including new build properties and those available through resale. Shared Ownership is available on a variety of homes including cosy studios, stylish apartments and traditional family homes. Check out our property search tool to start looking for your new home today!

Nope! It is true that to be eligible you cannot own another property at the time of purchase in the UK or abroad- but if you have previously owned a property and don’t anymore or have a sale agreed on the property you own which will complete on or before the completion date of the shared ownership property you want, then you’re good to go!

Truth: It’s your home, paint that statement wall! Change those granny tiles! Just be aware that your lease will be specific about more involved structural changes or for example installing wood flooring without prior permission from the housing association.

In most cases it is cheaper because the rent is usually less than private rent would be, and your mortgage would be smaller!

There are shared ownership homes up and down the country, from one bed flats to large family homes.

Truth: Nope! In fact, that’s what we do! We help you sell your shared ownership home! The only difference is that you’ll have to notify your housing association and give them (us) time to find you a new shared ownership buyer. This way more properties stay as shared ownership, so that more people like you can get on the property ladder… (That’s kind of our whole thing)