Basic conditions

General

You must not be able to afford to buy a home suitable for your housing needs. Please note you cannot buy a Shared Ownership home if you already own a home. If you are an existing homeowner we won't be able to allocate you a home unless you have started advertising your existing home.

Please note, you must make a full application to First Steps and be accepted by them, before we can offer you a home.

Please apply via the First Steps Registration.

Citizenship

You must be a British, EU or EEA citizen or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (you can stay without restrictions).

If you do not have indefinite leave to remain and want to buy a home with us, you must be able to prove that you can:

• raise a mortgage with an acceptable lender
• afford to keep your home in the long term.

We will assess these cases based on individual circumstances.

Household income

You must be able to afford Shared Ownership. As a rough guide this means a household income of at least:

• £19,000 a year if you're single
• £21,000 a year if you're applying as a couple
• an extra £2,400 for each child or dependant living with you.

For example:

• a single parent with one child will need a minimum income of £21,400 (£19,000 plus £2,400 for the child)
• a couple with two children will need a minimum income of £25,800 (£21,000 plus £2,400 for each child).

The minimum incomes shown would be suitable to buy a 25 per cent share in one of our less expensive homes. For most homes you will need a higher income. You'll also need a higher income if you pay loans, childcare and so on.

If you have savings to put towards the price of the home, you may be able to apply with a lower income. We'll work this out when you apply.

Savings

You must have savings of at least £4,000 to cover:

• legal costs
• survey fees
• mortgage arrangements
• stamp duty.

However, people often need more than this.

In addition to this your mortgage lender is likely to require you to have a minimum 5-10% deposit of any share that you buy.

If you can't get a mortgage, you'll need savings to buy at least a 25 per cent share of the full value of a home.

Employment

You must be employed on a permanent contract, unless you have savings to buy at least a 25 per cent share of a home.

If you are serving Ministry of Defence Armed Forces personnel, you will be considered priority if you are based in either:

• London
• The East of England
• The South East of England.

and come under one of the following:

• have completed basic (phase 1) training
• Regular Service Personnel (including Military Provost Guards Service in the Army, Navy, Air Force)
• Clinical Staff (excluding doctors/dentists)
• MoD Police Officer
• Uniformed Staff in Defence Fire Service
• Ex-regular service personnel (who have served in the Armed Forces for a minimum of six years and can produce a Discharge certificate, or similar document). Applications must be within 12 months of discharge
• The surviving partners of regular service personnel who have died in service may be eligible to be prioritised where they apply within 12 months of the date of being bereaved

More information

For more information about Shared Ownership or the basic conditions contact us on 020 8357 4444 or sales@nhhg.org.uk.