Shared ownership calculator
Work out what a shared ownership home would cost each month: your mortgage, the rent on the share you don't own, and the service charge. Then compare it with buying outright. Free
Your monthly cost: £1,059.72
Compared with buying the whole home
| Option | Deposit | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Shared ownership (40%) | £12,000 | £1,059.72 (mortgage + rent + service charge) |
| Buy outright with the same deposit | £12,000 | £1,459.25 mortgage only, if a lender would offer it |
| Buy outright with a 10% deposit | £30,000 | £1,368.05 mortgage only |
Staircasing: buying more of your home
- Buying another 10% at today's value costs about £30,000 and cuts your rent by about £68.75 a month.
- Buying another 25% at today's value costs about £75,000 and cuts your rent by about £171.88 a month.
Estimates only. Rent usually goes up every year, often by RPI plus 0.5%, and staircasing is priced at the value on the day, which needs a RICS valuation. Check the lease and the provider's rules before you commit.
How shared ownership works
With shared ownership you buy a share of a home, usually between 10% and 75%, with a mortgage, and pay rent to a housing association or council on the rest. It's designed for people who can't afford to buy outright in their area. In England, your household income usually needs to be £80,000 or less (£90,000 in London), and you can't own another home.
What you pay
- A deposit, normally 5% to 10% of your share, not of the whole home.
- A mortgage on the rest of your share. Not every lender offers shared ownership mortgages, so a broker can help.
- Rent on the share you don't own, usually 2.75% of its value a year on new homes. Older leases may charge up to 3%.
- Service charge and ground rent, especially on flats. You normally pay 100% of the service charge, even if you own a small share.
- Stamp duty, either on your share or on the full value in one go. First-time buyers often pay nothing. Use the stamp duty calculator.
Worked example
A 40% share of a £300,000 home is £120,000. A 10% deposit is £12,000, leaving a £108,000 mortgage. At 4.5% over 30 years that's about £547 a month. Rent at 2.75% on the £180,000 you don't own is £412.50 a month. With a £100 service charge, the total is about £1,060 a month.
Things to watch out for
- Rent rises are set out in the lease and usually go up every year, while your mortgage may be fixed.
- Most homes are leasehold, even houses, with rules on subletting, pets and alterations. Check the lease length with the leasehold checker.
- Selling usually means the housing association gets a period to find a buyer first.
- Repairs: on newer leases the provider covers some repairs for the first 10 years. After that, and on older leases, you're usually responsible for 100% of repairs.