Alarm raised over long-term affordability of shared ownership homes

'Unsustainable': some shared owners could get trapped in unaffordable homes

- Ella Jessel

Fewer than 2,000 shared ownership households in London managed to "staircase" to full ownership of their homes last year, raising concerns over the scheme's long term affordability.

Around 200,000 households live in shared ownership across the UK, mostly in London. Under the scheme, a resident buys a stake in a new-build property (between 25 and 75 per cent) and pays rent and service charge to a housing association, which owns the remaining share.

While buyers start with a small stake in the property, the aim is gradually to "staircase" their equity share until they own the property. However, the latest figures from the Regulator of Social Housing show just 1,999 households did this last year.