In order to be nominated to discounted sale and shared ownership housing you need to apply to join the housing register.

View details of current affordable housing developments in York.

Eligibility

You must be able to show that you cannot afford to buy a house at full market price but that you can get a mortgage and have sufficient savings for a deposit and legal fees. You can still be considered if you have money saved but only have a small income. You will be required by the council and the housing association to provide satisfactory evidence that the combination of your savings and your income will not allow you to buy on the open market.

You will not be considered if:

• you can afford to purchase on the open market
• your annual income is under £15,000 (unless you have substantial savings)
• you currently own or have a share in another home
• you are unwilling to provide income/mortgage details
• you are a cash buyer (except in exceptional circumstances)
• you have a bad credit history - this means that you would not usually be able to get a mortgage

Costs to consider before you apply

Mortgages

You need to speak to either an independent advisor or lending institution (i.e. bank or building society) about mortgages. Ensure that you tell your mortgage advisor that you are looking to buy a shared ownership/discounted for sale or shared/fixed equity property.

Guarantors are acceptable but the mortgage does need to be in your name.

Deposits and legal fees

The amount of deposit required varies from lender to lender but it is likely to be in the range of 3-10%. We suggest that you allow about £600 to cover legal costs, but check with your solicitor. Properties over £125,000 are also liable for stamp duty which amounts to 1% of the (discounted) price you pay.

Other costs

If you purchase a shared ownership home you may need to pay rent to the housing association on the remainder. When considering a property the housing association will confirm this amount. If you buy an apartment, and sometimes a house you will also be liable for payment of service charges. These generally cover the costs of ground rent, cleaning of windows and communal areas, gardening and a contingency fund which will go towards the costs of repairs to the building. The housing association should provide a detailed breakdown of what items are covered within these costs and the total amount which can be several hundred pounds per annum.

How long you will have to wait

We cannot guarantee how long you will have to wait for a home. It could be a few months or it could be well over a year or more. It really depends on the homes that become available, whether you can match the requirements financially, how many other people are looking for a similar property and how flexible you are in terms of location.

Parking

Whilst very few low-cost ownership homes have garages (to reduce cost to the purchaser), most have parking which is provided to the same standard as that for the private homes. However some homes have no parking. In these circumstances homes are generally well served by public transport or within easy walking distance of the city centre.

Pets

Policies on pets do vary depending on the Housing Association and the type of development. Apartments which share communal areas such as staircases tend to have more restrictive policies. We would advise that you contact the relevant Housing Association for confirmation of their policy.

Frequently asked questions

You can download some of our frequently asked questions about low-cost ownership housing from the right of this page.