Statement from our Chair on the Social Housing Bill [HL]

Our response to the Government’s move to remove a statutory review of shared ownership from the Social Housing Bill [HL].

Our Chair, John Mayford, says ….

As the Social Housing Bill works its way through Parliament the evidence from report after report is that the shared ownership model is flawed and meaningful reform is required to make it work for all parties..

So why has Matthew Pennycook, the Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government, tabled an amendment to remove Lord Young’s Clause 13, designed to address problems through a statutory review?

As James Baldwin said:

“Nothing can be changed unless it is faced”.

It is my view that, if the clause is removed, the failures of the model will be kicked into the long grass instead of receiving the public scrutiny they warrant. 

How is that in the interests of shared owners, social housing providers or government, all of whom have a stake in making shared ownership work properly for the households it was designed to help?

If you share my concerns, contact the Public Bill Committee ASAP while they are still accepting written evidence on the Social Housing Bill [HL].

And here are the receipts …. 

• The National Audit Office (NAO) describes shared ownership as “a complex financial and legal product” with long‑term risks often unclear to buyers.

• Satisfaction among shared owners is typically below 50% according to the Regulator of Social Housing.
• Shared Ownership Insight Report – Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE), 2026
• Shared Ownership in England: Assessing the Tenure’s Evolving Role – Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), 2026
• Shared Ownership in England: A Lifecycle Analysis of Structure, Outcomes, and System Dynamics – Cambridge Centre for Planning & Policy Research (CCHPR), 2026
• Shared Ownership Insights: Buyback – Shared Ownership Resources, 2026

• Affordability of Home Ownership – House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee, 2026

• Investigation into Shared Ownership – National Audit Office (NAO), 2026
• English Housing Survey: Shared Owners Fact Sheet – Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), 2026
• “Worry and stress”: life as a leaseholder in London, The London Assembly – 2025

• Shared Ownership Insight Report – The Housing Ombudsman,2024
• Shared Ownership – House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee, 2024

• Shared Ownership Consumer Survey Findings – Shared Ownership Council / Social Finance, 2024
• Shared Ownership: The Consumer Perspective – Shared Ownership Resources, 2023

John Mayford, Chair, Shared Ownership Resources. October 2026