Shared ownership is often described as ‘part buy, part rent’. So it’s not surprising that the Renters’ Rights Act has important implications for shared owners.
In Part 1 of this 2-part Q&A, Kevin Edwards, Partner with Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors Ltd, explains what shared owners need to know about the Renters’ Rights Act. In Part 2, he explains what shared owners who are subletting their home need to do, and where to find more information.
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Here are the key takeaways:
Positive benefits: The Renters’ Rights Act introduces important new benefits for shared owners, including a statutory right to lease extension, and removing a risk of possession.
Subletting: Shared owners who are subletting their home have more protections than other long residential leaseholders if they sell their property.
Important deadline: The new Act requires shared owners who are subletting to provide information to their tenants by 31 May 2026. Fines of up to £7,000 can be imposed for non-compliance.
Read on….
What does the new Renters’ Rights Act have to do with shared ownership?
The Act has positive implications for all shared owners. Prior to the Renters’ Rights Act, shared owners were assured tenants (or assured shorthold tenants). This meant that they had fewer rights than other leaseholders. From 27 December 2025 that was no longer the case. The Act amended the law so that shared ownership tenancies were no longer ‘assured’ tenancies, giving the tenants greater protections from eviction (in the same way as a long leaseholder of a residential lease).
The Act had the following benefits (to name a few):
Lease extension
Shared owners didn’t previously have a statutory right to lease extension. Although a housing provider might still offer lease extension under an ‘informal route’, this offered fewer rights and protections.
Now the same options apply to shared ownership tenants as long lease residential tenants. However, secondary legislation is required to implement the new extension rights. The timetable for this is yet to be confirmed but initial estimates were sometime in late 2026.
Repossession for rent arrears
Another benefit of the Renters’ Rights Act is that shared ownership homes can no longer be compulsorily repossessed under Ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (“the 1988 Act”) for rent arrears. This doesn’t mean you can’t lose your home if you fall behind with rent or service charge payments. But the process will now be forfeiture, the same as for any other long residential lease.
Subletting
The Act has knock-on effects in other areas. Particularly for shared owners who are currently subletting their home, or who want (or need) to sublet.
Shared owners who are subletting
Shared owners who are subletting must inform their tenants by 31 May 2026 that:
- they are shared owners, and
- that the 12-month no re-let restricted period may not apply to a subsequent letting or grant of a licence of the property.
We’ll go through what shared owners who are subletting need to do in Part 2 of this Q&A. But first we’ll explain the ‘no-let restricted period’.
What is a ’12-month no re-let restricted period’?
The rent controls of the Act have caused some knock-on effects for shared owners who sublet. We’ll explain this step by step.
1. The Renters’ Rights Act and rent increases
The main issue is that the Act prevents landlords from raising rent more than once during each 12 month period. And they must provide 2 months’ notice to tenants before doing so.
2. The Renters’ Rights Act and rent reviews
The tenancy agreement also cannot prescribe any rent review process – this must be done via the landlord serving on the tenant something called a “section 13 notice”.
3. Why the Act is good for tenants
This rent controls in the Act are a good step as they increase certainty for tenants and stop rent increasing as a matter of fact.
4. How the Act stops landlords from using potential loopholes to increase rent
As a result of the new Act, landlords might think that in order to increase rent, they would be better advised to terminate a tenancy and then grant a new one at a higher rent.
One way landlords could do this was by saying they were planning to sell. (This is one of the grounds under the Housing Act 1988 which the landlord could use to terminate with certainty). They could then immediately relet at a higher rent.
To prevent this possible loophole, the Act contains a 12-month re-let restriction. This means that if you obtain vacant possession for this reason and do not sell, you are restricted from reletting for 12 months. While this is to be celebrated by tenants, there were potential knock-on effects for shared owners who are struggling to sell.
5. Good news for shared owner landlords
Under the Renters’ Rights Act, landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property will be unable to re-let their home for 12 months if the sale falls through. However, thanks to campaigning led by Lord Young of Cookham, this ban will not apply to shared owners “who have met conditions showing that they had made a genuine effort to sell the property”.
Why has a subletting exemption been granted to shared owners? And why not to other leaseholders?
This aims to protect people who are finding it difficult to sell their shared ownership homes and are forced to sublet if they want to move to a new home. The government accepted that sales of shared ownership homes are more likely to fall through than for other leaseholders of conventional tenancies.
Challenges for resale include:
- limitations on the pool of buyers
- sale price restrictions (arising from RICS valuations), and
- reluctance from lenders due to building safety concerns, .
“Permission to sublet at up to market rent remains a vital mitigation for shared owners who face building safety remediation challenges and who may have been unable to sell and move on from their shared ownership property as a result.”
Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Letter (15 April 2026)
In Part 2 of this Q&A on the Renters’ Rights Act, legal expert, Kevin Edwards, explains what shared owners who are subletting need to know and what they need to do. Please take a look as there are important deadlines for compliance with the new legislation.
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We are extremely grateful for the support of Kevin Edwards, Partner with Geoffrey Leaver Solicitors, in creating this content.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this website is for general purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for legal, financial, tax or other professional advice. Everyone’s situation is different so always seek expert advice on any questions you may have.
Featured image: Thought Catalog on Unsplash
Additional Resources
GOV.UK guidance – The Renters’ Rights Act and Shared Ownership: Guidance for shared owners who are renting out their home
GOV.UK guidance – The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026
Ministry of Homes, Community & Local Government (MHCLG) – The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026
GOV.UK correspondence – Shared ownership and the Renters’ Rights Act: letter to registered providers of social housing
Shared Ownership Resources – Subletting? What you need to know about the Renters’ Rights Act
GOV.UK guidance – Renting out all or part of your home (subletting)
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