LINKS

When it comes to purchasing a home caveat emptor (buyer beware) definitely applies. The role of a solicitor/conveyancer is to handle legal aspects of home buying; not to provide a comprehensive outline of long-term pros and cons of shared ownership. And the less you pay for conveyancing services, the more basic the service you’re likely to receive. Ask lots of questions before committing to your purchase. Links provided here should not be taken as endorsements but may help to provide starting points for your own research.

Shared Ownership Resources is funded, in part, via sponsorship from companies with relevant expertise. Take a look at the Sponsors page for information about their services. Other useful organisations are listed below.

End Our Cladding Scandal – A resident-led campaign and a collaboration between Inside Housing, UK Cladding Action Group, Manchester Cladiators, Grenfell United, and many other resident groups.

HomeOwners Alliance (HOA) – Campaign to protect the rights of property owners. Aims include scrapping stamp duty for those buying a home to live in, and reform of the home buying process. Their website has various posts on shared ownership, including ‘some pitfalls you’ll want to avoid‘.

Just Space – An informal alliance of around 80 community groups, campaigns and concerned independent organisations which was formed to act as a voice for Londoners at grass-roots level during the formulation of London’s major planning strategy, particularly the London Plan.

LEASE (Leasehold Advisory Service) – An executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, that provides free advice on residential leasehold and park homes law. The website is a useful source of information but has been criticised for acting on behalf of landlords and managing agents, and for failing to expose deficiencies in legislation.

Leasehold Knowledge Partnership (LKP) – LKP is a registered charity and the secretariat of the All Party Parliamentary Group on leasehold and commonhold reform. They aim to help leaseholders, publish authoritative editorial and campaign for legislative and regulatory changes.

National Housing Federation (Nat Fed) – Nat Fed is a trade association for housing associations. Their website includes information for first-time buyers and shared owners.

National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) – Set up to campaign for the abolition of residential leasehold in England and Wales. It was originally started as a Facebook group by paediatric nurse Katie Kendrick in January 2017, when she first became aware of the leasehold scandal as a result of her own home purchase.

Nearly Legal – A specialist housing law website for England (and occasionally Wales), run by solicitors and barristers practising in the field. The site provides information, updates and discussion on housing and landlord & tenant law generally, including occasional pieces on shared ownership.

Propertychecklists – The site includes articles on housing topics and property checklists, including one on purchasing a shared ownership property.

YouTube – Searching for shared ownership on YouTube generates a number of videos, many of them outlining pros and cons. (Bear in mind that some of the videos are sponsored so are not impartial. Sponsored content should be clearly flagged as such under Advertising Standards Authority requirements.)