Selling Your Shared Ownership Property

Author: Natalie Martin

Selling your shared ownership property is very different from selling a normal property. You will have to coordinate with the housing association and they will need to approve the sale.

Depending on your circumstances you will need to work out which is the best way to sell your share in a shared ownership property. One option could be to buy the housing association’s share of the property before you sell your half.

Buying The Housing Association’s Share

If you want to own the property outright you will need to buy your landlord’s share. Once you have done this you will have the option to stay in the property or try and make a profit by selling it straight on and keeping all of the money from the sale yourself.

If you do intend to buy the housing association’s share it will make it a lot easier when it comes to selling the property, as you will not be bound under the shared ownership rules and you will be able to sell your home as a normal freehold property and not a leasehold property as it would be under shared ownership.

It will be much easier to sell your home this way as you will be able to pitch it to all buyers, not just those that fall under the shared ownership scheme.

If you are planning to buy the housing association’s share though you will need to ask their permission first and extend your mortgage to cover the extra share.

How much you will have to pay for their share of the property will depend on whether the property has gone up in value and how much it is now worth.

Many people like to have complete control when they sell their shared ownership property because they have more control over who values the property and how much they can market it for.

Selling Just Your Share

If you jointly own the property with the housing association you will need to inform them about two months before you plan to sell. In some areas of the country there are huge waiting lists for shared ownership properties, so when one comes to the market the housing association will usually try and sell your half to somebody on their waiting list.

The housing association selling your share has its upsides and its downsides. It means from the moment you decide to sell the housing association will take it out of your hands for around two months and try to sell it themselves, this is known as the nomination period. The association will also charge you a small fee for this, but usually no more than 1% of the value of the property.

If however the association fails to find a buyer in this time it will be passed back to you to sell. You may be able to negotiate a good asking price on the open market, but you will also have to pay estate agency fees which the housing association will not pay. You will also be restricted to selling it to others that are eligible for shared ownership.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Restrictions When Selling Shared Ownership

Selling your share in your property should be straightforward if you live in an area that has a high demand for shared ownership properties but if there is no demand you may have to lower the asking price.

Some housing associations will also not allow you to buy their share in the property if you live in a rural area. Many housing associations in rural areas will not allow you to buy 100% of the property of your home because shared ownership homes may be in short supply and they do not want it converted into a normal property.

It may seem like you have to jump through a lot of hurdles so sell your shared ownership property, but in many ways it can be easier to sell this type of property than a normal home because you have the help of the housing association.

When selling your shared ownership home you will face the same highs and lows as you would selling a normal property but help will be at hand in the form of the housing association.

Showing 20 of 111 questions

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Jane 20/09/2020 at 8:17 pm

If my Lease does not restrict resale, do I have to go by your words below - the Housing Association could not find a buyer even after 12 weeks:-:

Selling Just Your Share
You will also be restricted to selling it to others that are eligible for shared ownership.

Restrictions When Selling Shared Ownership
Selling your share in your property should be straightforward if you live in an area that has a high demand for shared ownership properties but if there is no demand you may have to lower the asking price.
Some housing associations will also not allow you to buy their share in the property if you live in a rural area. Many housing associations in rural areas will not allow you to buy 100% of the property of your home because shared ownership homes may be in short supply and they do not want it converted into a normal property.

It may seem like you have to jump through a lot of hurdles so sell your shared ownership property, but in many ways it can be easier to sell this type of property than a normal home because you have the help of the housing association.

When selling your shared ownership home you will face the same highs and lows as you would selling a normal property but help will be at hand in the form of the housing association.

Joanna 02/08/2020 at 2:08 pm

I have a shared ownership flat in London and wanted to sell it. As my neighborhood was under the redevelopment process and my flat is under a risk of being demolished along with other ones is virtually impossible to sell it hence I asked Housing Association to buy back from me. They approved buy back via email mid May and said to await until lock down is released. So I awaited and start chasing them since June and follow up in July with many calls and emails I eventually received a phone call saying they are not buying and some very lousy not professional email from the manager I was liaising with. Whole process cost me 6 months of waiting. No formal apologize nothing only a call saying we just changed our mind. Does the email where they confirmed the buy-back is binding agreement or argument I can use. Clearly due to Corona they were delaying whole process however email confirmation was assurance to me they are buying back. After 6 months of emails calls I am left devastated and stressed how this could even happened. Anyone can advise what can be done in this situation if Housing Ass. can do something like that. Obviously, I will make an official complain as this is not acceptable and professional, however any advise in this matter is appreciated. I really did not expect such a behavior from big organisation like that whose core values are accountability and professionalism.

Mandy 22/06/2020 at 11:39 am

When you sell a your share of the house what do you actually walk away with?

gilly 28/11/2019 at 10:29 am

Hi

I just read your article and I have shared ownership with Fortis Living and your article says that the Housing Association should help with the costs for a roof repair but we have this problem and they say its up to us to sort out and pay for , do some HA agreements vary or should they be offering to cover the repair

J5 07/11/2019 at 4:16 pm

Bought my housing trust property in 09, ownership of the 32% I do not own has since changed to a ltd company. The original Deed of Trust is no longer accepted by mortgage providers, so they have charged me 1500 for a new lease, but in doing so have reduced the lease term from 990 years to 99 and introduced rent of 260 pcm when I have never paid any. It's what made the house attractive in the first place. Ombudsman can not help as they are no longer a housing association. They have made it impossible to sell and it's no longer anything like what we bought. Any advise please? Thanks J5

. 15/07/2019 at 6:39 pm

My Mother passed away 2 yrs ago. Her and my father received a home paid up front by my grandfather in 1965 which my parents payed him back. My father passed away in 1982 when my grand father stated home was paid in full. Home was never put in my mother’s name. She live there 52 years. After grandparents passed, home automatically went into my mother and her sisters name because there was nothing in writing. My mother had payed all taxes, insurance and repairs for more than 28 yrs. Are her Sisters responsible for contributing to the taxes insurance etc even though mom was told home was hers and never paid rent. It also had rental property attached that she collected.

Bump 06/06/2019 at 5:31 pm

I have secured an offer on my shared ownership property. I own forty percent and i have permission to sell the whole equity. This means i will staircase to 100% owership at the point of exchange. I havMATe been told that i will have to pay stamp duty on the whole interest of the property even though I'm selling. Is that right?

Liverpool Scouse 08/03/2019 at 11:33 am

My mother in law has passed away with a shared ownership of a property ie Local Authority 75pct her percentage being 25%, they have a sinking fund and now inform us that we will owe them £20,000.00 pounds once the sale goes through, even though my mother in law has lived there for 20 years paying rent/service charges, is this legal and were does the 20,000.00 come from.

Sal 01/03/2019 at 11:17 am

I been trying to sell my shared ownership house since July 2018 no one wants to buy it, housing association refused to buy it, we are stuck with it, also this week we found a leak in our flat causing by flat owners above the leaky is now fix but the owner refused to pay for the water damage cause to our flat he claim that the water meter is leaking so seven Trent is reasposibile I don’t know how to move foward

sookie 28/01/2019 at 5:18 pm

We have a 25% interest in our home. Due to my health problems, we would lke to sell it quickly to move to a more suitable property. We don't mind selling our share for less than we paid for it. Are we bound to sell it at the housing association valuation price?

Lloyd 09/11/2018 at 11:22 am

I own 40% of my property. In the last year come out of work due to illness and struggling with my bills and got in quite a substantial rent arrears. The only money I have that would cover these debts I have is tied in to my property. Would the housing association buy my property back off me and continue to let me stay in the property and pay rent? If so how would it work? Thanks

Kimberly Ellis 28/08/2018 at 7:32 pm

Me and my husband have separated haven’t divorced yet, I’m living in the marital home it’s shared ownership between me and my husband who have mortgage for 25% and the housing association have 75% we pay rent as well for the part they still own. My husband has just served me with a letter regarding severing the joint tenancy saying “ and in the letter it says for the property shall be held by us as tenants in common in equity” what’s the difference to us being joint tenants? And does this mean he can stop making payments towards the house as he has his name on the mortgage and rent. Thanks

GillG Editor 07/08/2018 at 1:41 pm

@Jen - yes, the whole of your bank account is now subjected to full scrutiny. Gym membership, cancel it, a new car, forget it, school lunches, starve your children :) It really is impossible.

Jen 06/08/2018 at 3:33 pm

I am trying to sell my shared ownership property it has been on the market for over 2 years. When I bought it I got a mortgage for 60% and paid the other in rent, now if you enquire about new mortgages you have to satisfy a spreadsheet asking about food, magazine subscriptions, socialising and when they add rent in it comes up with a minus money status therefore it's a no. So I think I'm stuck at the moment unable to sell it....

Bristol 1 05/08/2018 at 7:59 pm

Hi
I do not feel the price the housing association is requesting for having secured a buyer is a fair amount. It’s over £1000 and equates to 2.2% of my share of the property. It’s double the amount I paid my solicitor to complete Conveyancing for both sale and purchase. Where do I stand in terms of challenging this?

Suttonite 03/08/2018 at 8:08 pm

The comments listed do not help anyone unless you reply and give advice others can maybe follow.
Very frustrating and time wasting

AffordableHomeAdvice Editor 13/07/2018 at 11:54 am

You would have to look at the terms and conditions of your agreement to see what the split is and what other charges may be incurred after the joint equity of £35,000 has been calculated. In addition, regardless of whether your house is worth £185,000 it does not mean it will sell for this amount.

Remond 12/07/2018 at 5:19 pm

If I bought the property at 25% of 150000, the property is now worth 185000, how much would I be able to put towards another property. With equity made?
I need to move closer to family. I'm a lone buyer with 1 dependant under 5.

Mm 06/07/2018 at 9:38 pm

I can sell my flat on the open market but the problem I have is the rics report is valuing my property way above what agents say it can sell for .

Lauren 01/07/2018 at 8:06 pm

Hi,
I bought my 35% of my shared ownership 4 years ago and now trying to sell. I have 4 days left of the 'nominated' 8 week period where the housing association has the right to sell the property. I now want to go to estate agents as it's obvious it wont sell in 4 days. My question is, will I be expected to pay the 1% fee to the housing association on completion AS WELL as paying the estate agent fee for selling? The housing association have done nothing, not even advertised on their own website due to a 'technical hitch'! Only advertising on the 'share to buy' website and not provided any updates or chased the 2 offers that were given - I chased.
Seems incredibly unfair that I have to pay two fees for the housing association doing nothing!

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