What is shared ownership?

Shared ownership is also called New Build HomeBuy and part rent and part buy.

The way you find a shared ownership home will change on 1 April 2023

From 1 April 2023, some changes are being made to the Help to Buy Agency service, meaning that how you find and register for a shared ownership home will change.

The main changes to the service from this date are that:

  • the Help to Buy Agents website will no longer show homes for sale
  • they will no longer send new homes alerts
  • you will not need to register or complete an application form with them to be able to buy a shared ownership home.

Already registered with Help to Buy

If you have previously registered with them, there is nothing you need to do, as they will delete your personal data from their records. You can check your eligibility and find shared ownership providers via the government website.

In North Norfolk, new shared ownership properties and some resales of shared ownership properties are advertised through Your Choice Your Home. So any interested household must be on the housing list to bid for a shared ownership property.

If you can’t afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs, shared ownership offers you the chance to buy an initial share of a home worth between 10% and 75% of its market value. You will pay rent to the housing provider for the rest. 

You can buy more shares in your home in the future, as and when you can afford to do so. This is known as staircasing. If you buy more shares, you’ll pay less rent. The rent you pay will be based on the size of the share of the home you have not bought.

Eligibility

You will be eligible for shared ownership if:

  • the property you are looking for will be your main residence
  • you have savings, equity or earned income but cannot afford to buy a property for sale on the open market that meets your needs
  • your household income does not exceed £80,000 per year

Some shared ownership homes are subject to property criteria which will restrict who will be eligible to buy. Where this applies, it will be clearly stated in the sales information.