Shared ownership

As you own a percentage of your home and rent the remainder, you don’t have the automatic right to extend your lease. We may be able to extend it using an informal route, so please get in touch to find out more.

Subletting is not usually permitted if you are a shared owner, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you want to sublet your property, you must contact us first. You will have to complete an application form and pay an admin fee before we can take a decision.

You can contact us by visiting the My Onward Portal, emailing homeownership@onward.co.uk, calling 0300 555 0600 or messaging 07418 344 603 on WhatsApp between 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and 10am-6pm on Wednesdays.

You can also find more information about our fees on our website.

If you purchased your home through a shared ownership scheme, you could purchase more shares over time which is known as staircasing.

Depending on your lease, you may be able to staircase up to 100%, meaning you will own your home outright. Some leases restrict staircasing to a maximum percentage, so please check your lease. And if your shared ownership home was built after 2022, you may also be able to purchase additional shares from as little as 1%.

As well as the cost of buying extra shares, you will need to consider valuation costs, your legal costs, and our legal costs.

If you’d like to discuss staircasing to own more of your shared ownership home, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. Please get in touch or take a look at our staircasing process.

You can sell your home at any time, but we have the right to market the property for sale. This is called the nomination period and is 4, 8 or 12 weeks depending on the terms of your lease. In some cases, we will waive the nomination period meaning that you can market your home for sale straight away. However, you should always check with us before you put your home up for sale.

As well as costs associated with engaging a solicitor, estate agent and moving home, you should also consider fees that are payable to us. You can find more information about our fees on our website.

If you inherit a shared ownership home, you will be responsible for the payment of rent, service charges and any other costs. More details on your rights and responsibilities, as well as how to sell a shared ownership home can be found on this page.

We understand that this may be a difficult time for you and are here to support you through this process. Please do get in touch if you need any assistance.

As a shared owner, you pay rent the share of your home that you don’t own. For example, if you own 50% you will pay rent on the other 50%.

The way we calculate your rent is specified in your lease agreement and your rent can increase every year. You may also pay a service charge, which is a contribution to the management and maintenance of any shared areas.

You can find more information about rent and service charges on our website.

Although you may not own 100% of your home, you are responsible for all repairs and maintenance.

If you live in an apartment, you are responsible for carrying out all repairs and maintenance to the inside of your home. All repairs and maintenance to the building and shared communal areas, such as hallways and green spaces, will be carried out by us and we will pass on the costs of that work to you through your service charges.

To report a building or communal area repair, please visit the repairs section on our website.

If you live in a house or bungalow, you are responsible for carrying out all repairs and maintenance to the inside and outside of your home. This includes the roof and windows.

Repair responsibilities may vary by lease. If you purchased your home through shared ownership after 2022, you may be able to access £500 per year to contribute to the cost of repair and maintenance. If you are not sure which repairs you are responsible for, please check your lease or contact us.

All new build homes come with a 12-month defects period. This means that if any repairs or maintenance are identified within the first 12 months, the developer will return to repair or replace items free of charge. After 12 months the developer has no responsibility to do this, and all repair responsibilities will fall to you.

If you move into your home during the 12-month defect period, we recommend that you do a full walk through and identify any defects or maintenance issues. You can report any defects to us by getting in touch, we will then arrange for the developer to return. You should keep a note of the defects you have identified and of when they are repaired to your satisfaction.

New homes come with a 10-year warranty which is valid from the date the property was built. A copy of this warranty will have been provided when you completed your purchase. If you have misplaced this, you can request a copy from the NHBC.

Not everything can be claimed on the warranty and there may be some restrictions. You should contact the NHBC to discuss your claim before making a formal submission.