Background
Shared ownership is a government backed affordable housing model, with the objective to offer an affordable route into home ownership for eligible buyers who cannot afford to purchase a home on the open market. There are currently over 250,000 households in shared ownership homes in England, up from 202,000 in 2020.
The model enables buyers to purchase a share of the property – typically between 10% and 75% – and pay rent on the remaining share to a housing provider. Over time, shared owners can buy more of a share of the property through a process known as ‘staircasing’.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has policy responsibility for shared ownership. Homes England and the Greater London Authority (GLA) oversee delivery of the model, with housing associations and other registered providers responsible for developing, selling and managing shared ownership properties. The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) regulates shared ownership properties by setting standards for the registered providers that manage them. Shared owners can make complaints to the Housing Ombudsman if they have a dispute with their housing association landlord.
Government funding for developing new shared ownership homes comes from the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) which is administered by Homes England. The current iteration of the AHP runs from 2021-2026. The new iteration, the Social and Affordable Homes Programme will run from 2026-2036.
Scope
The study will investigate how government is ensuring that the shared ownership model is providing access to affordable homes as intended. It will look at:
- MHCLG’s understanding of how the shared ownership model is operating
- How MHCLG is carrying out stewardship of the shared ownership scheme
- How the shared ownership scheme is being monitored and evaluated
NAO team
Director: Helen Hodgson
Audit Manager: Gemma Reed