If you have any questions regarding your eligibility or personal circumstances, please call our applications team on 0300 456 9997 or email applications@lqgroup.org.uk. If you wish to apply for an L&Q Shared Ownership home, our application form can be found on our website.
Discover the information for your Shared Ownership journey
What is the Shared Ownership Code?
L&Q is a proud member of The Shared Ownership Code (“the Code”), a code of practice for registered housing providers. The Shared Ownership Code sets out to make shared ownership clearer, fairer, and better supported for customers, from marketing and buying a home through to living in it and selling it. It aims to raise standards and protections for shared owners, improve the customer experience by ensuring clear information before purchase and ongoing support throughout ownership, and promote consistent, transparent service standards so customers know what to expect.
View the Shared Ownership Code
Buying a Shared Ownership Home
Shared Ownership is a government-backed scheme that helps people buy a home with a smaller deposit by purchasing a share of a property and paying rent on the rest. You usually buy between 25% and 75% of the home with a mortgage on your share, while paying subsidised rent on the remaining portion. Over time, as your finances improve, you can buy more shares through a process called staircasing until you own the home outright, making it a more affordable and flexible way to get on the property ladder.
Shared Ownership Benefits & Considerations
Discover L&Q's policies
Staircasing
Through a process known as ‘staircasing’ you can buy more shares in your home at any time and move towards fully owning it. You can also sell your share of the property at any time, and our dedicated resales team are able to assist at every step of the process. This can help you increase your ownership and reduce the amount of rent you pay. How staircasing works, how much you can buy, and the costs involved will depend on your lease and personal circumstances, so it’s important to understand your options before deciding to move forward.
Vulnerability Policy
Reasonable adjustments are changes we can make to remove barriers and help people with disabilities access our services as easily as possible, in line with the Equality Act 2010.
Please notify your sales associate for any help in how we help you along your journey on purchasing a home with L&Q. You can ask for a reasonable adjustment in several ways, and we aim to agree and put simple changes in place quickly.
Hardship Support
With the cost of living increasing, we offer a wide range of support to help you manage your money and benefits, pay rent and service charges, reduce household and energy bills, and stay safe and warm at home. We can also help you find work, training, or education opportunities, and support you to access food banks, vouchers, and other local services if you’re struggling. Our support is designed to help you through short-term difficulties and improve your long-term financial wellbeing, with information kept up to date so you can access the right help when you need it.
Allocations Policy
L&Q allocates Shared Ownership homes in line with government guidance, local authority requirements and planning obligations. Shared Ownership is intended for people who cannot afford to buy a home on the open market, and all applications are assessed against clear eligibility and affordability criteria. All Shared Ownership Applicants must not exceed the total household income affordable housing limits as set out in the Homes England Capital Funding Guide and GLA (Greater London Authority) Capital Funding Guide.
Shared Ownership Eligiblity and Allocation Policy
Eligiblity
To qualify for Shared Ownership with L&Q, applicants must meet the scheme’s eligibility and affordability criteria. This generally includes having a combined household income of £80,000 or less (or £90,000 in London), not owning a property at the time of purchase, being over 18, having a good credit history and enough savings (usually around £5,000) to cover purchase costs. Eligibility is confirmed through L&Q’s application process, which also considers local authority or development-specific allocation priorities and affordability assessments. Homes may be prioritised for certain groups such as Armed Forces personnel, key workers, or those with a local connection.
Find out more about eligibility criteria for Shared Ownership
Service Charge Estimates
L&Q provides service charge estimates to help shared owners understand the likely cost of communal services such as maintenance, repairs, cleaning and gardening. Estimates are set at the start of each financial year based on expected costs and are paid in regular instalments, as set out in your lease. L&Q review these charges annually and will provide a statement showing the actual costs incurred. If there is a difference between the estimate and the actual spend, this will be adjusted in line with your lease.
Lease Agreements
When you buy a shared ownership home, you purchase a share in the property and pay rent on the remaining share. Shared owners usually hold a long lease, typically ranging from 99 to 999 years. As part of the purchase, you will be provided with an L&Q lease agreement, which both you and L&Q sign. This legal document explains your rights and responsibilities, as well as what you can expect from us where we are the freeholder of the building.
We strongly recommend that your solicitor goes through the lease with you in detail, explains its terms clearly, and provides you with a copy, so you fully understand your responsibilities before you complete your purchase.