Home Ownership Schemes
Shared ownership is a scheme to help you buy a home of your own. It enables single people couples and families to make the first step towards buying a home that they could not afford otherwise.
To start off, you can buy an affordable share of the property with a mortgage, your savings or both. You will pay rent for the share that you do not own. You can buy more of the property later, in stages, if you wish. This is known as 'staircasing'.
We currently publish the details of the cost and the income level needed for each property. These vary for each scheme depending upon the size and value of the property and the portion you want to buy. The figures are carefully worked out by the housing association and the income will be the lowest possible amount. If you are interested in one of these please phone the telephone number provided. Priority is given to existing council and housing associations tenants, as this releases homes for Barnet council to re-let.
The housing association will ask you to fill in their own application form and invite you to look at the property. The association will then interview you to see whether you can afford to buy the property. You might need to fill in a budget plan showing your monthly expenditure including loans and travel expenses. The main concern is that you will not run into financial difficulties once you have bought your home. You will also need savings to cover the cost of moving, such as legal fees, surveys and stamp duty.
As well as monthly payments for your mortgage, council tax, water rates and household insurance, you will pay rent to the housing association every month. This is calculated as a percentage of the share you do not own and divided into 12 monthly payments. The housing association will increase the rent each year as stated in the lease. This is usually in line with the Retail Price Index. You will also pay a service charge to the housing association. It is likely to include communal gardening, building insurance and a management charge. Your lease will give the details.
If your home is new the builder will be responsible for some repairs for 6 to 12 months. Otherwise, you will be responsible for doing and paying for any necessary repairs.
If you decide to buy more of your home, you will need to pay for the property to be revalued. An independent valuer appointed by the housing association, will do this before you go ahead. The more you own, the less rent you will pay.
Shared ownership property for sale and other home ownership schemes
- January 2012 (PDF 28KB) 
Email this pageLast modified by: Webmaster on 18/01/2012