Shared Owners

This area is for Eastlight shared owners to think about their next steps, and how we can help.

Sudbury Road
  • Website Picture Shared Owner

    Buying more of your home

    Once you have lived in your home for a period of time, you have the opportunity to purchase further shares, this is known as staircasing -if your lease allows.

    This is applicable for new build properties and also re-sale properties, depending on the terms of the lease.

    Some properties may have a cap on the shares you can own.

    The more shares you purchase in your home the less rent you will pay. If you staircase to 100%, where the lease allows, you become the outright owner, and if this is a house, the freehold will transfer to you. At this point rent will no longer be charged.

    When purchasing further shares this will be at the relevant proportion price equal to the current open market value. For example if your property is valued at £200,000 and you purchase a further 10%, the purchase price will be 10% of the full value, which is £20,000.

    The smallest proportion of extra shares you can buy is 10%.

    More information on staircasing can be found below.

When can I staircase?

Subject to your lease allowing staircasing, it is often done one year on from the sale completion of your property.

If you are in a position to staircase before, the lease may allow for this.

The majority of purchasers chose to staircase, where possible, at the time they look to re-mortgage.

How do I apply to staircase?

If you would like to purchase further shares please complete this application form.

The fee for carrying out a property valuation is £150 +VAT.

Upon receipt of this payment an independent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) surveyor will be instructed to carry out the valuation. 

Once the valuation has been received and the share percentage to purchase has been agreed you will need to advise and instruct your solicitor to deal with the transaction.

If I disagree with the valuation, can I appeal?

Yes, you can appeal and request a second valuation.

This must be carried out by an approved RICS surveyor and it will be at your own cost. This value will then be reviewed by the leasehold manager.

Can I purchase the remainder of the shares for my property in one transaction?

Providing there are no staircasing restrictions in your lease, yes, you can purchase the remaining shared in your property in on transaction, or in shares as small as 10%.

Are there further fees charge, besides the valuation fee?

You will have to appoint a solicitor and pay their legal fees to process the transaction, however there are no other fees payable to Eastlight.

Can I sell shares back?

No, shared ownership is designed to promote home ownership, and for buyers to staircase out and eventually own all of your home.

You can sell your full shares in the property at any point through the re-sale process.

Further information on re-sales can be found here.

Will owning more shares make finding a buyer harder if I decided to sell my shares?

No, as part of the re-sale process your property will be advertised on the help to buy platforms.

If a buyer is not secured you have the option to advertise your shares on the open market, a buyer is also able to purchase the remaining shares in this initial transaction

This opens up the sale to those also looking for full home ownership.

Notification to sell or staircase:

Please complete this form to notify us of your intention to sell your shares in your home, or buy further shares in your home.

Please supply three valuations from local estate agents so these can be considered when the surveyors write their report and determine the valuation. We accept PDF, TXT, PNG or JPG files.

Please be aware that the surveyors determination is based on ‘sold’ properties – properties were completion has taken place so please bear in mind that the figure may differ from estate agent values as these are asking prices and properties do not necessarily sell for that price.

As estate agents receive commission for the properties they sell, it is in their interest to market a property for a higher value.

Upon receipt of your completed form, the valuation fee and copies of three valuations from local estate agents, we will instruct our Independent Surveyor to value your property and your contact details will be passed to them for the purposes of arranging the survey. The information you provide will be used to process your application to sell your share or purchase further shares.