Shared Ownership Schemes: Sales
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to support those in shared ownership properties who are unable to sell their property.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The government recognises that some shared ownership leaseholders face difficulties selling their homes, especially where building safety issues are present.
We have taken steps to support shared owners who find themselves in such a position, including making clear that where building safety issues exist, subletting should always be permitted by the landlord.
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme places new expectations on shared ownership providers to improve customer experience. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability and increasing transparency and fairness on costs.
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