Shared Ownership Staircasing Explained: How to Increase Your Share Over Time

What shared ownership is

Shared ownership is a part-buy, part-rent scheme run by housing associations and other registered providers. You buy a percentage of the property (typically 25% to 75%) and pay subsidised rent on the rest. Over time, you can buy additional shares (called staircasing) until you own 100%, at which point you become the full leaseholder and stop paying rent.

The scheme is aimed at first-time buyers and people who cannot afford to buy outright but can afford to buy a share. It is the largest UK affordable home ownership scheme, with around 200,000 shared ownership homes in England.

How the maths works

Imagine a property valued at £300,000. You buy a 40% share:

• Initial purchase price: £120,000 (40% of £300,000)
• Mortgage based on: £120,000, not £300,000
• Deposit (5% to 10%): £6,000 to £12,000
• Remaining 60%: owned by the housing association
• Rent on the 60%: typically 2.75% per year of the unowned share, so £8,250 per year (£687 per month)

Total monthly cost: mortgage payment on £120,000 plus £687 rent plus service charge plus ground rent (where applicable).

A direct comparison: buying the same property outright at £300,000 would require a much larger deposit (£15,000 to £30,000) and a £270,000 to £285,000 mortgage. Shared ownership lowers the entry barrier but increases the lifetime cost because you pay rent on the unowned share.

Staircasing process

When you want to buy more shares:

1. Tell the housing association of your intention to staircase

2. Get a RICS valuation of the property at current market value (the housing association arranges this; you usually pay)

3. Apply for a mortgage for the additional share if you need one

4. Pay the additional purchase price based on the current valuation

5. The lease is updated to reflect the new share percentage

6. The rent on the remaining share is recalculated to reflect the smaller unowned percentage

The key thing to understand is that staircasing is at current market value, not the original purchase price. If the property has gone up in value, your additional share costs more. If it has gone down, it costs less.

Worked example: you bought 40% in 2020 when the property was worth £300,000. You staircase to 60% in 2026 when it is worth £360,000.

• Additional 20% to buy: £72,000 (20% of £360,000)
• This is more than 20% of the original price (£60,000) because the property has appreciated
• After staircasing, you own 60% and pay rent on 40%

Costs of staircasing

Each staircasing transaction has costs:

• Valuation fee: £200 to £500
• Mortgage application fee (if using a mortgage)
• Conveyancing fees: £500 to £1,500
• Stamp Duty Land Tax: depends on the price and your circumstances. There is a complex SDLT regime for shared ownership where you can either pay all the SDLT upfront on the full property value at first purchase, or pay it incrementally as you staircase.

Staircasing in small chunks is more expensive in fees than staircasing in one large transaction. Most people staircase in 2 or 3 steps over the years.

Restrictions and pitfalls

100% ownership

When you reach 100% you typically still hold the property as a leaseholder of the housing association rather than as a freeholder of the underlying land. The housing association retains the freehold and you continue to pay any service charge, although you no longer pay rent. Some shared ownership schemes allow you to buy the freehold separately at the 100% stage; many do not.

Resale restrictions

You cannot sell on the open market until you reach 100%. Until then, you must offer the property back to the housing association first (a "right of first refusal"), giving them a window to find a buyer at the same valuation before you can market it externally. This can delay a sale significantly.

Service charges

Service charges on shared ownership properties have risen sharply in many schemes. The leaseholder bears the full service charge regardless of share percentage. You pay 100% of the service charge even if you only own 25% of the property.

Major works

Major works are charged in full to the leaseholder, not pro rata to the share. A £20,000 major works bill is paid in full by the leaseholder regardless of share percentage. This is one of the most common complaints about shared ownership.

Lease terms

Shared ownership leases are usually 99 or 125 years originally. As the lease shortens, lease extension becomes necessary in the same way as any other leasehold property.

Is it worth staircasing

Staircasing is usually worth doing if:

• You can afford the additional mortgage cost
• The rent saving exceeds the additional mortgage interest cost (typically the case at 2.75% rent vs current mortgage rates)
• You plan to live in the property long-term
• You want to remove the right-of-first-refusal restriction on resale

It is usually not worth doing if:

• You plan to move within 2 to 3 years
• The property has appreciated significantly and the additional share is unaffordable
• The mortgage cost would exceed your budget

Look up the property data

Before staircasing, check the property data on Property Passport UK at [/search](/search). The platform shows tenure, EPC rating, sold price history of comparable nearby properties (which helps you assess whether the housing association valuation is reasonable), and flood risk, all sourced directly from official UK government registers.

Check any property in seconds with Property Passport UK

Whether you are buying through Right to Buy, Shared Ownership, First Homes, or at auction, the underlying property data matters. Property Passport UK shows verified EPC, sold price history, flood risk, listed status and tenure for every one of the 19.35 million properties in England and Wales. Search any address at [/search](/search).

Related guides

• Right to Buy explained
• Shared Ownership staircasing
• First Homes scheme explained
• Buying at auction UK guide