What is Shared Ownership

An Affordable Way to Own Your Home

If owning a home feels out of reach, Shared Ownership might be the solution. It allows you to buy a share of a property, typically between 40% and 50%, though higher or lower shares may be available depending on your circumstances. You then pay rent on the remaining share.

You can start with an initial share of up to 75%, and over time, you may be able to buy more shares through a process called staircasing.

Shared Ownership is leasehold:

New homes (from 2025): Lease term is 990 years
Older homes or resales: You’ll purchase the remaining term of the original 99 or 125 year lease
You can usually staircase up to 100% ownership, at which point the freehold is transferred to you
In rural areas, staircasing may be capped at 80% to help preserve affordable housing for future generations
Flats will remain leasehold, even at 100% ownership

How to Apply and What You Need to Know

Before you apply for a Shared Ownership home, it’s important to understand the process and make sure you meet the criteria. You’ll also need to think carefully about whether you can afford all the costs involved.

If you’re thinking about buying through Shared Ownership, it’s really important to create a budget planner. This should include:
- Your mortgage payments
- Rent on the share of the home you don’t yet own
- Service charges
- Any other regular monthly expenses (for example utilities, insurance, travel, childcare)
- You must have a household income of less than £80,000 per year (this applies to joint incomes as well)
- You need a good credit history and be able to demonstrate you’re able to afford the costs associated with a Shared Ownership home, for example the rent and mortgage repayments and any service charge payable
- You will need a deposit (a minimum of 5% but usually around 10%)
- You may need to have a local connection to the area if there is a Section 106 planning agreement that requires this (this will be on the advert for the property)
- You may need to demonstrate a need for the home if it is designed for specific purchasers (for example retirement age or disabled adaptations)
If you own a home or you’re an existing shared owner and want to move, you may qualify if you meet the above criteria plus:
- A formally accepted offer for the sale of your current home (called ‘sold subject to contract’ or ‘SSTC’)
- A memorandum of sale setting out the terms of the agreed sale and the timescale for selling. You must have completed the sale of your home on or before the date you complete your shared ownership purchase.
The new shared ownership lease was adopted by Cornerstone in 2025.

The main differences are:
- A lower initial shares can be purchased
- Smaller staircasing shares if you decide to buy more of your home in the future
- The lease term is longer, now 990 years
- Financial support for the first 10 years for essential repairs to your home up to a maximum of £500 each year
- If selling in future, the nomination period (when Cornerstone can ‘nominate’ a buyer) has been reduced 4 weeks.

Additional costs to consider when owning shared ownership are listed below and correct as at 1 October 2024:

Type	Why	Fee
Resales Administration fee	Estate Agent sales Administration on approving a buyer & provision of the leasehold information pack.	£250
Nomination Fee	For marketing, finding and approving a buyer, plus the administration and leasehold pack	1% of % sale price
Staircasing Administration fee	This goes towards the cost of obtaining a staircasing valuation and our administration time	£250

Page last updated: 2nd December 2025

What is Shared Ownership

An Affordable Way to Own Your Home

How to Apply and What You Need to Know

Prioritisation

Things to Think About

Cornerstone’s Qualification Criteria

Shared Ownership Leases 2025 Onwards

Fees Charged by Cornerstone