Shared ownership for council and housing association tenants

    With Social HomeBuy, you buy a share of your council or housing association home and pay rent on the rest of it.

    To apply, ask your landlord for an application form.

    Discounts

    You’ll get a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 on the value of your home, depending on:

    • where your home is
    • the size of the share you’re buying

    If you want to buy another share in your home later on, you’ll get a discount on that too.

    Buying more of your home later

    You must buy at least 25% of your home. You can buy more later, until you own 100%. This is called ‘staircasing’.

    If you buy more of your home, your rent will go down – because it’s based on how much of the property you rent. Your landlord can charge rent of up to 3% of the value of their share of your home, per year.

    Example
    Your home is worth £240,000 and you buy a 50% share. Your landlord charges you 3% rent on their 50% share. 3% of £120,000 is £3,600 per year. This works out at £300 per month for you to pay in rent.

    Who can’t apply

    You can’t use Social HomeBuy if:

    Not all local councils or housing associations have joined the scheme. Check with your landlord to find out if they belong to the scheme and whether your home is included.