Buying more shares in your home

Buying a home through shared ownership can be a great way to take your first step onto the property ladder. But your journey doesn’t have to stop there. Over time, you may decide to buy a larger portion of your home. This is called staircasing.

Aprils' story

Hear from April about her experience of shared ownership and how she staircased to owning 100% of her home.

What is staircasing?

Staircasing is the process of buying a higher portion of your shared ownership home over time. You might have started with 25%, 50%, or 75%, but now you’re ready to own more. Some people choose to staircase gradually, while others buy a larger portion when they're financially ready. If your lease allows, you can eventually own 100% of your home.

Benefits of staircasing

Pay less rent
The more of your home you own, the less rent you'll pay. If you staircase to 100% ownership, you'll no longer have to pay rent.
Benefit from increases in house prices
The more you own, the more you will benefit from any rise in property value.
Easier to sell
If you own all of your home, you can sell it on the open market without involving your landlord.

How staircasing works

1. Check your lease

Your lease will explain how staircasing works for your home. It'll tell you when you can buy additional portions and how much you can buy. It might mention a maximum percentage you can own or limits on how much of your home you can buy at a time. You can usually buy portions of 10% or more at any time. Some older leases only allow you to buy 25% portions or more at a time.

2. Get a valuation

You’ll need to pay for a valuation from a RICS-accredited surveyor open_in_new. They'll tell you the current market value of your home, which is used to calculate the cost of the portion you want to buy.

3. Arrange your finances

You might be using savings, remortgaging your home, or a combination of both. Your mortgage lender will need to approve the new arrangement if you want to change your mortgage.

4. Complete the legal steps

A solicitor will help update your lease and handle the paperwork.

5. Update your rent

Once the purchase is complete, your rent will be recalculated based on the portion still owned by your landlord.

Things to think about

Before you decide to staircase, it’s worth considering:

Is now the right time?
Staircasing is a long-term investment, so make sure it fits with your budget and plans.
Are there any restrictions in your lease?
Some housing providers may limit staircasing to a maximum of 80%.
Have you made home improvements?
If you’ve upgraded your home, these changes may affect your valuation and therefore the cost of the portion you want to buy. With permission, you may be able to exclude them from the valuation used for staircasing.
Do you want to staircase gradually or in larger steps?
Some leases allow you to buy portions in small increments, while others may require larger purchases.