If you're a shared owner, most of our leases allow you to buy additional shares in your home - this is known as staircasing. In most cases, you can staircase to 100%, so you can own your house or flat outright. However, homes built in rural areas often have a cap on the amount you can buy - usually 80%. This is to ensure the property is sold to someone with a local connection. To be eligible to staircase, you must be up-to-date with your rent and service charge payments.
If you want to staircase, you need to contact us to arrange an independent valuation, so we can tell you how much increasing your share will cost. You must pay for this valuation in advance and it usually costs in the region of £400 plus VAT.
We will not accept an estate agent's valuation or a valuation carried out by a bank/building society as these are not classified as independent. Once we have this information, we can send you details of the costs involved and you can decide if you wish to go ahead and start putting legal and financial arrangements in place. We recommend that you try to increase your share in substantial amounts, as each time you staircase it will cost you a significant sum in legal, mortgage and arrangement fees.
If you purchased your home within the Affordable Homes Programme 2021 – 2026, you have the option to staircase by 1% per year for the first 15 years following the commencement date of your lease, without need for legal, administration or valuation fees. The value of the 1% is based on the most recent UK House Price Index and the calculation is defined in your lease. We will write to you every year around the anniversary of the commencement date of your lease to let you know the current value of the 1% share.
Staircasing is optional and you are under no obligation to purchase additional shares. You may staircase at any time within the year, but please contact us first, as the value is based on the latest UK House Price Index (HPI), which can fluctuate.
The annual 1% opportunity cannot be carried forward to future years if unused, and you are not able to purchase between 2% and 4%.
You can also choose to staircase by 5% or more (up to 100%) at any time. Please be aware that legal, valuation, and administrative fees will apply for staircasing above 1%.
If you are unsure which lease you have, or if you have any questions at all, please contact us on 01403 226060 or email us at [email protected].
