Am I eligible for shared ownership?

 There are specific criteria which must be met in order to qualify to buy a shared ownership home:

  • You may be eligible

    If:

    • You can’t afford to buy a house on the open market

    • You are a British, EU or EEA citizen or have ‘indefinite leave to remain’ in the UK

    • You have a permanent contract of employment and not within a probationary period

    • You have at least two years’ of audited accounts if you are self employed

    • Your income fits affordability for the property you wish to buy

    • You must meet the mortgage lenders criteria to obtain a mortgage for the agreed share percentage and value

    • You have savings to cover the mortgage deposit plus approximately £3,000 for legal, survey and mortgage fees

      Check any possible stamp duty fees with your solicitor at the time of purchase.

      If you don’t need a mortgage to purchase your share you will need enough funds to cover the above costs, less the mortgage fees.
  • Priority applicants
    • Serving military personnel and those honorably discharged in the last two years

    • General Needs housing tenants - who vacant a property to move into a shared ownership home

    • People already living and/or working locally and those with a close family local connection 

      Close family connection = parents, adult children, brothers or sisters who have been resident in the local area for the past 5 years

    • People with a housing need
  • You are NOT eligible for Shared Ownership
    If:
    • You aren’t a British, EU or EEA citizen, or your passport is not stamped with ‘indefinite leave to remain’ or you are not entitled to use public funds

    • You can’t prove that you can raise a mortgage with an acceptable lender and afford to keep a home in the longer term

    • You have a county court judgement (CCJ) registered against you, unless this has been satisfied (paid back) two years prior to application

    • Your defaults must have been settled for at least two years prior to application

    • You have a household income of more than £80,000 a year

    • You have had a home repossessed within six years prior to application

    • You have any mortgage arrears in the past 12 months

    • You have negative equity which you cannot resolve with your lender (negative equity means that you owe more money to a mortgage lender than your property is actually worth)

    • You already own a home you cannot or will not sell

    • You have been made bankrupt/had an IVA (Involuntary Arrangement) and have not been discharged for at least three years

    • You are self-employed and don’t have audited accounts for the last two full years, or copies of your last two years tax returns