Shared ownership homes are often called 'part-buy, part-rent'. You buy a share in a property whilst renting the remainder from a housing association. You typically buy a 50% share. The cost of a shared ownership scheme will involve monthly mortgage repayments, rental repayments, structural insurance and often a Housing Association management fee. The public subsidy that helps reduce the rent the Housing Association will charge you means that your monthly outgoings should still be less than if you bought the property outright.

After a certain period, usually a year, you are entitled to buy further shares in your property at the market value. It is important to check whether you can buy shares up to 100% ownership as on some developments the maximum is 99%.

If you want to sell your property you can do so at any time. You can only sell the share of the property you have bought and you need to let the housing association know when you plan to sell.

Housing associations will often have a waiting list of people interested in buying a shared ownership home and they will usually offer you advice and assistance in selling the property. Most homes have to be offered to the council before going to the open market.