Leasehold and shared ownership
Shared ownership staircasing
Buying a further share in your shared ownership home from the housing association, in many cases up to full ownership.
This work depends on the details, so our team prepares a quote for you, usually within one working day.
The valuation and the housing association's offer have time limits. Arrange your mortgage or savings before booking the valuation so you can complete before they expire.
Staircasing means buying more shares in your shared ownership home, which reduces the rent you pay to the landlord and increases what you own. You might buy a further 10% or 25% now and more later, or go straight to 100%, depending on your lease and what you can afford.
The price of each new share depends on what the home is worth when you buy, so a valuation by a RICS-registered surveyor is usually needed, and the housing association manages the process. The legal work records your new share, deals with your lender if you are borrowing more, and registers the changes at HM Land Registry.
Because the work depends on your lease, the share you are buying and whether you will reach full ownership, staircasing gets a tailored quote prepared by our team, usually within one working day. Tell us the share you own now, the share you want to buy and whether you will borrow.
What is involved
A typical staircasing transaction involves these steps:
- Checking the lease: confirming the minimum share you can buy, any waiting period and whether a cap applies, for example 80% in some protected rural areas.
- Valuation: a RICS-registered surveyor values the home and the price of the new share is worked out from that value. The valuation usually has to be used within 3 months.
- Housing association offer: the landlord confirms the share, the price, any administration fee and your new rent.
- Funding: if you are borrowing more, your conveyancer acts for your lender, reviews the mortgage offer and makes sure the money is in place.
- Documents: preparing or reviewing the staircasing documents that record your new share, and a transfer of the freehold or changes to the lease where you reach 100%.
- Property tax: checking whether Stamp Duty Land Tax is due. If you did not pay on the full market value when you bought, tax may be payable once your share goes above 80%.
- Completion: sending the price to the housing association, confirming your new rent and registering the changes at HM Land Registry.
What the legal fee covers
- Checking your lease for the staircasing rules
- Reviewing the valuation and the housing association's offer
- Preparing or reviewing the staircasing documents
- Acting for your lender if you borrow more
- Checking whether Stamp Duty Land Tax is due and filing any return
- Completing the purchase of the new share
- Registering the changes at HM Land Registry
- Dealing with the freehold transfer or lease changes when you reach 100%
Costs you may see on top
- The RICS valuation, which you normally pay for
- The housing association's administration fee for shares of 5% or more
- HM Land Registry fees for registering the changes
- A fee for acting for your lender on additional borrowing
- Your lender's own fees for a further advance or a new mortgage
- Stamp Duty Land Tax if your share goes above 80% and you did not pay on the full value at the start
- Identity checks and the bank charge for sending money
What to have ready
- Your shared ownership lease and the key information document
- Details of the share you own now and the share you want to buy
- The housing association's staircasing application or offer
- Your mortgage offer or further advance, if you are borrowing
- Evidence of any savings you are using
- Records and consents for improvements you have made
- Photo identification and proof of address
How long it takes
Staircasing often takes a few months from the valuation to completion. The valuation usually has to be used within 3 months, so it helps to have your funding lined up before you book it. The housing association's response times, a lender's further advance or new mortgage, and any lease changes needed to reach 100% are the main factors. Small 1% purchases under newer leases are usually simpler and quicker because the price is based on a house price index rather than a full valuation.
Things to watch for
- Book the valuation only when your funding is ready. If you cannot complete within 3 months, you may have to pay for a new one.
- Improvements you made with written permission are usually left out of the value used for the price, but unauthorised ones may not be, so dig out your consents.
- Check the stamp duty position before you go above 80%. If you paid in stages when you bought, a return and tax may be due.
- Ask the housing association to confirm your new rent in writing, and update any standing order after completion.
- Some homes cannot go to 100%, for example in some protected rural areas, and older persons shared ownership homes usually have a maximum of 75%.
Questions people ask
How much can I buy at a time?
It depends on the lease. Many leases allow shares of 10% or more, some older ones require 25% or more, and some newer ones allow 5%. If you bought on or after 1 April 2021, you may be able to buy 1% a year for the first 15 years, priced using a house price index rather than a full valuation. Your conveyancer will check what your lease allows.
What happens when I reach 100%?
You stop paying rent to the landlord and own the whole home. For a house, the freehold is often transferred to you; for a flat, the shared ownership terms usually fall away and you keep an ordinary lease, still paying any service charge. The exact result depends on your lease, and your conveyancer will explain what changes and register it.
Do I pay stamp duty when I staircase?
If you made a market value election when you first bought, you will not pay any more. If you paid in stages, there is no tax or return until your share goes above 80%. At that point a return is needed and tax may be due on the transaction that takes you over 80% and on any later ones. See GOV.UK for details.
Why is staircasing quoted individually?
The work varies a lot. Buying a 1% share with savings can be simple, while buying the final share with a new mortgage, taking a transfer of the freehold and dealing with tax takes much more time. A tailored quote lets our team price the work you actually need once you tell us your share, the amount you are buying and how you are paying.
Who does the work
Your matter is handled by a law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or CILEx Regulation, or in Northern Ireland by a solicitor regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. At the moment the law firms on our panel act for property in England and Wales, so for property in Northern Ireland we tell you whether a firm can act for you before we pass your details to anyone. The firm confirms who will work on your file, their experience and its terms before you instruct it. How we choose our firms.