What is Shared Ownership?

Our home buyers explain L&Q's Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership makes it possible to own your home – even if you feel priced out of the property market. It’s an affordable home ownership scheme designed as a stepping-stone to outright ownership if you can’t afford to buy a home on the open market.

Under the Shared Ownership scheme you part-own and part-rent your home, making it possible for first-time buyers and families to get on the property ladder.

How does Shared Ownership work?

With an L&Q Shared Ownership property you start off by buying a share in your new home on a 125-year lease (although this may vary). Your lease is a legal document that proves you own part of your home and sets out conditions such as how often your rent and service charge goes up and by how much.

The minimum share you can purchase is 25% and the maximum is 75%. You will usually pay a mortgage on the part you own and a subsidised rent on the part you don’t own. As your income rises, you can increase the share you own until you eventually own 100% and no longer pay any rent to L&Q. This process is known as ‘staircasing’.

An affordable way to buy a home

Shared Ownership is a more affordable way to have the security and stability of owning your own home. If you’re currently renting your home, you may even be able to reduce your monthly outgoings with an L&Q Shared Ownership home. You may find the combined cost of your mortgage, rent and service charges to be cheaper than the cost of private rental.

You could be within reach of owning your own home, even if you don’t have a large deposit ready. With Shared Ownership you need a much smaller deposit than when you buy on the open market – and it’s already helped thousands of first-time buyers and families onto the property ladder.

What’s more, you won’t be overstretched because you will only purchase the share you can afford. We’ll help you work out how much you can afford during your financial interview. As your income rises, you can increase the share you own, until you eventually own 100% and no longer pay any subsidised rent to L&Q.

The security of home ownership

Clara Garfield purchased a one-bedroom apartment at Greenwich Square. Clara talks about her experience of purchasing a Shared Ownership home with L&Q:

“Owning a share of this property is vastly important to me. It really gives me a sense of identity and security in London. I feel like I can properly call this place my home now. Knowing that a landlord isn’t going to turn around in 10 months and say ‘sorry Clara, you have to leave’ and not having to deal with all the kerfuffle of renting again is just fantastic.”

Shared Ownership Eligibility Quick Check

Applying with L&Q is the only way to confirm that you’re eligible to purchase one of our Shared Ownership homes. However this short list will give you an indication of the minimum eligibility requirements.
Our application form takes about 20 minutes to complete. It includes questions about your household income and savings, financial commitments, and your current living arrangements.
Once your eligibility has been confirmed you will be assigned an LQSO number, which you will need to book a viewing or reserve a property.

have a combined annual household income under £80,000, or £90,000 in London
not own a property, or part of a property, at the time of completing on your purchase
have a good credit history
have a minimum of £5,000 to cover the costs of buying a home
be over 18 years of age and be able to obtain a mortgage

Apply now and confirm your eligibility

COMPLETE THE FORM