Is it easy to staircase shared ownership?

The process to buy more shares in your home is easier than when you first purchased, less legal work and no seller, but there is still a process to follow. It will take around 8 to 12 weeks for you to staircase. The main delays are: Issuing the memorandum of staircasing - this can often take 2 to 3 weeks. Staircasing Mortgage - this can take between 2 to 4 weeks from start to getting your mortgage offer.

Which housing associations do we work with?

We can work with any housing association including (but not exclusively): L&Q (London and Quadrant) Notting Hill Genesis Clarion Housing Southern Housing Click to see a Full List of Housing Associations.

How long is the staircasing process?

It can take 3 months. One of the longest parts of the process is getting the Memorandum of Staircasing from the housing association.

Do you pay stamp duty when staircasing?

If you've paid stamp duty on the full market value of the property at the time of the purchase, you won't pay any more stamp duty when staircasing. If you've opted for payment in stages, you won't have to pay stamp duty when staircasing until your share reaches more than 80%. Once your share is over 80%, you need to fill in an SDLT form confirming (if you have a solicitor, they will do this for you): The transaction that took you over 80% any further transactions The amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax due to HMRC is based on the total amounts you’ve paid for the property so far. This is because the transactions count as linked transactions for SDLT. It needs to be paid within 14 days of completion.

Do you automatically get the freehold if you staircase to 100%?

This depends on the specific lease conditions and who owns the freehold. Staircasing a flat to 100% When you staircase a flat to 100%, the freehold won't be transferred into your name. Staircasing a house to 100% When you staircase a house to 100%, then you may be able to transfer the freehold into your name; however, this isn't automatically done, and it may not actually be transferrable. The housing association may only own the leasehold for your property, while the freehold is held in another party's name. In the staircasing process, the housing association is only able to staircase the lease they own and can't agree to transfer the freehold to you if they don't own it. You should find out who owns the freehold. If the housing association owns the freehold then agree with them to transfer this into your name when staircasing to 10%. If the freehold is in another party's name then contact them and find out if they will agree to transfer the freehold into your name. They will often want to be paid a premium to do so and you'll often have to pay for their legal fees to do so. A freeholder no longer has to pay ground rent, however small this might be). This is not always the case, however, and sometimes there may be a stipulated time period - for example, 3 months - before the freehold title passes to you: your solicitor will advise you further about this. If you're changing ownership from leasehold to freehold, then you'll have to arrange your own buildings insurance. Quite often, your lease will contain a clause which forces you, if you sell up within 3 months of full staircasing, to give the housing association any difference between the price your home is sold for and the amount determined by the open market valuation. You can normally remove this clause after 3 months.

Is it hard to sell shared ownership?

It can be tricky if you don't own 100%. In this case, your housing association has a right of first refusal - a set period of time during which they can look for a buyer for your share. This is usually 8 weeks. You can then look for a buyer yourself, but they must also purchase through shared ownership. Shared ownership staircasing would offer you more control over your property. Ask for a free quote

Our solicitors specialise in buying more shares in your shared ownership property. We can help whether you are staircasing up to 100% or buying a smaller share.

We offer the complete service from RICS valuation surveyors to staircasing solicitors at competitive rates.

Shared Ownership Staircasing

by:

Andrew Boast

(Last Updated: 04/11/2024)

Created on:

22/03/2022

Read by:

26,758

9 min read

Key Takeaways

Shared ownership staircasing is the process where you buy more shares in your shared ownership property from your housing association.
You can expect the standard staircasing costs to be an average of £1100, excluding stamp duty and transfer of freehold title.
You can staircase as many times as you wish, but your housing association will have set shares you can staircase in.
You will need a valuation report each time unless you staircase 1%. A report is only valid for 3 months, but may be extended with a desktop valuation.
The staircasing process for shared ownership can take 1-3 months. It's essential you instruct a competent solicitor and surveyor, as you'll need a new valuation if you go over 3 months.

With shared ownership staircasing, you can normally buy additional shares in chunks of 10% or 25%, but you can staircase up to 100%. The starting point for any staircasing is to get a current market valuation of the property, to confirm what the additional share will cost.

Is it worth staircasing Shared Ownership?

The more you staircase, the more shares you'll own in your shared ownership property, which gives you different advantages.

you will pay less rent, although if you are staircasing with a mortgage, this means your mortgage payments will increase
you will have more mortgage product options if you own 100%
you may have the option to purchase the freehold when you reach 100%
you will have more flexibility and control of your property

How to staircase shared ownership

The staircasing process is as follows:

1
Instruct a solicitor
Ideally, you will instruct your shared ownership solicitor early on. This will help speed up the process as soon as your staircasing valuation report comes in.
2
Get a RICS valuation to confirm the value of the property
The cost of your shared ownership staircasing will be assessed based on the current market value of your property.
3
Apply to your Housing Association
4
Memorandum of Staircasing is issued by Housing Association
The Memorandum states what share you are purchasing and what the shared ownership premium is.
5
Get your shared ownership mortgage offer
Mortgages for shared ownership are specialist products. It's best to wait for your memorandum before submitting the application but be prepared for any remortgage to take 4-6 weeks.
6
Completion takes place

Start staircasing

How does Shared Ownership staircasing work?

Your housing association will allow for different shares you can staircase to, whether that's 10%, 25% or more - it will be stated in your lease. You can staircase as many times as you wish, but you can only do so in those specific shares. If you staircase up in small tranches, then it can be costly because you have to pay for the valuation and legal costs for every stage.

Newer leases allow for smaller shares to be purchase and leases post April 2021 even let you buy 1%.

1% Shared ownership staircase

Only applicable if your property has been bought on or after April 2021, this allows shared ownership homeowners to staircase by 1% for the first 15 years of ownership.

You don't need a valuation for 1% shared ownership staircasing and the landlord cannot charge an administration fee.

What happens if you staircase to 100%?

Once you own 100% of shared ownership, you become the full owner of the property and stop paying rent on it. You then gain more control over the property, only have to make your mortgage payments and can sell the property whenever you wish, without the housing association having to be involved.

What are the staircasing costs?

The professional costs to buy more shares in your property don't vary whether you are staircase to 100% or if you just buy 10%. These are the estimated costs to help you budget:

RICS Staircasing Valuation The valuation is suitable for housing associations for staircasing. The survey is completed by an RICS surveyor, and the report is delivered on company-headed paper. Contact us or call on 0333 344 3234 (local call rate) to book a survey. Valuation reports last for 3 months; however, a desktop revision can be provided if this time lapses at a reduced rate.	£360
Staircasing solicitor legal fees Included in our Fixed Fee: one bank transfer, receiving the memorandum of staircasing, handling completion, filing SDLT form (if required) and registration at the Land Registry. We charge extra if you want to add another party onto the legal title so if required please ask for the costs for a transfer of equity. We can also assist with drafting deeds of trust and wills if required. We include all of the above legal fees in just one low, all-inclusive Fixed Fee. Read our Fixed Fee Policy. Staircasing work is not covered by a No Sale No Fee.	£569
Stamp Duty when Staircasing Stamp duty can be paid on the amount you staircase. However, you don’t have to pay any stamp duty until your ownership exceeds 80%. If you have previously elected to pay stamp duty on 100% of your shared ownership property's value, then you have no further stamp duty to pay.	£TBC
Land Registration The Land Registry cost is based on the full price.	£20 - £140
Local authority search indemnity (if remortgaging) Unless your mortgage lender instructs otherwise, your solicitor will obtain local authority search indemnity insurance on your behalf. Read more about your lender's requirements - CML Handbook	£45
Lawyer Checker	£19
Online ID Check	£15 per person
Official Copy of Register & Title Plan (per title)	£10
Official Copy of the Lease	£3
Priority and Bankruptcy Land Registry Searches	£15

Additional Costs

Notice to freeholder

When buying a leasehold property, your solicitor will need to give notice to the freeholder that you are the new owner after you complete. The freeholder will charge a notice fee, and potentially an engrossment fee, for doing this and your solicitor will confirm the cost of this to you once they receive the management pack from the seller's solicitors.

£TBC

Transfer freehold Title

If the property is a flat, once you have purchased 100% of the shares in the property, it will remain leasehold with a freeholder landlord in place. You cease paying rent, although any service charge will still have to be paid. If you wish to sell the shared ownership property, you do not have to give the housing association the opportunity to market the property.

If the property is a house and you have staircased to 100%, you may be able to go on and buy the freehold from the housing association but this is a separate transaction. Speak to your Housing Association to find out if they own the freehold and, if they do, if they will agree to transfer the freehold to you. The freeholder may charge you a premium, and you may have to pay their legal fees.

If you want to transfer the freehold, then our solicitor can handle the drafting of the freehold transfer documents and charge a fee for doing so. If you choose not to transfer the freehold, then you own 100% of a leasehold, and the housing association remains the freeholder with all the responsibilities of a freehold under your lease.

£180 INC VAT

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Written by: Andrew Boast

Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.

Reviewed by: Caragh Bailey

Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.

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