Shared owners

As a shared owner, you’re responsible for any internal maintenance and repairs.

If you live in a house

You may be responsible for the exterior of your building.

If you live in a flat

We are responsible for the exterior of your building and communal areas.

When a new property is built, most issues or ‘snags’ are covered under a warranty, and are the responsibility of the building contractor. During the warranty period, snags will be addressed for free.

We provide buildings insurance for the majority of our homes. This cost is included in your service charge.

Most residents need to contribute towards the cost of maintaining, repairing and improving their building or estate in the form of a regular service charge. This is outlined in the terms of your agreement with us.

If you are a shared owner and pay us a service charge, we are legally obliged to let know of any major works that are being carried out and ask for your opinion about them before doing anything. This is in accordance with the Section 20 consultation process.

Your monthly payment (or ‘rent’) is for the share of your home that you don’t own.

The easiest way to pay your service charge and monthly payment is online.

Rent increases are linked to inflation.

Your rent increases every year by the Retail Price Index (RPI), plus a % specified in your tenancy agreement lease.

Rent increases from 1 April 2025

We will send you a letter in February/March 2025 explaining how much your rent will increase by from 1 April 2025. The letter also explained our estimates for your service charge payments.

You are responsible for paying your:

• Monthly payment
• Council Tax
• Utility bills
• TV licence (if you need it)
• Contents insurance (if you want it)
• Service charge (if applicable)
• Mortgage payments (if applicable)

You may need to pay us an administration fee if you want to do something to your home – for example, making home improvements or remortgaging.

If you are having difficulty making payments, don’t ignore the issue – we’re here to help.

When you’re ready to move on, you can sell your home. Our dedicated shared ownership service, SO Resi, will guide you through the process.

Mortgage lenders often need independent certification that the external walls (cladding) meet the Government’s safety guidance. This certification is called EWS1.

You can buy extra shares in your property at any time. This is called staircasing. Buying more shares will reduce your monthly payments. Our dedicated shared ownership service, SO Resi, will guide you through the process.

Your lease does not allow you to run a business from your home that will impact your neighbours or the building itself. For example, running a pet day care centre is not permitted, but computer-based work is allowed.

If you want to extend your lease, our dedicated shared ownership service, SO Resi, will guide you through the process.

There are some changes that you can make to your property without asking us and some that need our permission.

Under normal circumstances, your lease doesn’t allow you to sublet your shared ownership home.

You may be able to sublet in exceptional circumstances, but you need our permission first.

If you’re a housing association or local council, you can get help marketing your shared ownership homes with SO Resi Partnerships.

Services range from new-scheme marketing intel reports, to premium sales and marketing through to post-completion customer service.