“No one told us about the risks of an 80% staircasing cap. I feel angry about a system that takes advantage of people whilst increasing the profits of housing associations and trusts.”

I grew up in a small town, I’d never really thought about living in a village. Where I grew up (Oxfordshire) villages were the preserve of the wealthy or those who had long family roots in the area. They weren’t places for girls from single parent families from a council estate.

It was never even on the radar that I would ever be able to own a home anywhere, less in a lovely village in a sought-after location. 

I jumped at the chance of a shared ownership home

Many years later – in my 30s, and with a good job after graduating from uni – I was surprised to find that I could escape the endless uncertainty of renting from private landlords. I had been trying unsuccessfully to get a mortgage for years… I worked in a charity, the wages weren’t great.

A new build estate in my hometown was offering a small number of shared ownership properties. I jumped at the chance, secured a mortgage and bought my first house at a share of 50%.

Fast forward a few years…

Buying was plain sailing. But everything that happened afterwards was less so… I won’t go into details because I was lucky enough to be able to staircase to 100% and buy out the housing association. I swore I would never get into shared ownership again and hoped that I would never need to, now that I was full owner of my home.

So, fast forward a few years… I meet my current partner, sell my house in 2020 and move in with him into a lovely village just across the Oxfordshire border in Northamptonshire. Finally, here I was in a village, where I thought I’d never be.

Our house is a modest two-bed, semi-detached which backs onto agricultural fields on the edge of the village. No parking issues, a quiet street, no anti-social behaviour, and friendly neighbours.

Originally, the houses were built for agricultural workers. As such, they fall under the protected rural housing scheme and we can’t purchase more than 80%. So we’ll never be free of rent. Or the looming issue of funding an extension to the leasehold, which currently sits at 88 years.

The housing trust are making the houses less affordable for new tenants by changing the leases

When the houses were first built, back in the 90s, they came with a 99-year lease and no rent for the 20%. One of our neighbours has lived here since the houses were new, and paid off his mortgage, so has no outgoings on the property.

However, when the houses are sold, there is non-negotiable need to renew the lease up to 99 years. As part of this tenants are liable for paying the costs of the lease extension and associated solicitors fees. The extended lease then includes rental on the 20% of the property for the new owners. So, gradually the housing trust are moving everyone over on to new types of leases with rent in-built. It’s making the houses less affordable for new tenants.

Problems selling rural designated shared ownership homes

Unlike the housing association with my previous property, the housing trust we’re now with do absolutely nothing for the rent paid – except put barriers in place to selling. A neighbour recently went to sell his property after being in it since new. He had to move for reasons of ill health and because he was no longer able to work.

Friends of ours were looking to buy and it seemed like a match made in heaven. However, the housing trust’s barriers to buying meant that our friends had to pull out of the process and the house had to go back on the market. 

Restrictions on selling

When you buy into shared ownership there are certain stipulations around earnings caps and not being able to rent out the property. These are common to all shared ownership homes. (Though my own experience is that you can sometimes negotiate subletting if there is a strong enough case. For example, moving away for a work contract.)

However, extra levels of conditions apply for resale in a rural designated protected area scheme.

You must be able to prove a connection to the village. You cannot make any improvements to the house that might increase its value. And they do check when you sell, from the estate agent’s pictures, what changes you’ve made and admonish you for any changes to ‘their’ fixtures and fittings. All of these restrictions make the potential buyers pool smaller than for other shared ownerships. Consequently, selling a property becomes even more difficult.

Potential buyers lose interest when they find out about the 80% staircasing cap

Our neighbour had his property on the market for over 12 months, in a village where properties are usually snapped up within a matter of hours of going on the market. The estate agent told him that there was no shortage of interest in his property. But potential buyers lost interest when they found out that they could never fully staircase to 100%. 

Shared ownership isn’t for everyone. People usually do it out of necessity rather than because they actually want a shared ownership property. The 80/20 rule restricts the market even more.

New houses are going up in villages all around us, with a minimum % given to affordable housing. We found out there’s planning permission going through for more affordable housing on the field across the road from us. If there’s more shared ownership properties there, and they’re available at 100% staircasing, then where does that leave us? I’m originally from up north and our plan, when my partner’s daughter has left school, is to sell up and move back up north. Now I’m left wondering if we’ll be able to do that. 

No one told us about the potential issues

Our neighbour went through over 12 months of uncertainty, which affected his mental health. He had to write to our MP and drag in the Parish Council to get support in putting pressure on the housing trust to enable him to sell. Interest in shared ownership is dropping as people are realising that you never really own your own property. You’re just paying a premium for an assured tenancy.

At no point in the process of buying either of the two properties did anyone tell either myself or my partner about the potential issues with leasehold, the additional costs we would face, and the risks associated with an 80% staircasing cap. There was little information available at the time, so we were none the wiser.

I feel angry about a system that takes advantage of people

I wouldn’t buy a leasehold property again, watching what’s happening with the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill going through parliament and because of campaign groups supporting shared owners and leaseholders. Now I would rather rent than commit my hard-earned money to either. I feel so angry at a system that takes advantage of people whilst increasing the profits of housing associations and trusts.

Featured image: Sue Phillips