What is shared ownership?

Shared ownership helps people buy a home outright.

Shared ownership is a scheme designed to help those who cannot afford to buy a home outright.  This may be because they cannot afford the full mortgage repayments or the deposit, or both.

With shared ownership you buy a share in a property and then pay a rent on the remaining share.  You would normally fund the purchase by means of a deposit and a mortgage.  Your initial share may be as little as 25% or as much as 75%.

You may be able to buy a greater share when your finances allow, until you own your home outright.  This is known as staircasing.