Levelling Up Committee launches inquiry into shared ownership

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee has today (20 July) launched an inquiry into the two available low-cost shared home ownership schemes in England.

The Committee noted that the shared ownership model enables people to buy a share in a property, usually from a housing association, and pay subsidised rent on the rest.

The LUHC’s inquiry will examine the challenges associated with shared home ownership schemes, “including barriers to achieving full home ownership and whether shared ownership is genuinely an affordable route to owning a home”.

The inquiry is also likely to explore challenges around reselling, affordability issues such as service charges and maintenance responsibilities, and questions around mortgage availability and the limited range of providers.

The Committee is written seeking evidence on the following points:

• Do the schemes Shared Ownership and Right to Shared Ownership provide good value for money for the potential users of the scheme?
• How can the Government ensure that Shared Ownership and the Right to Shared Ownership remains an affordable programme in light of rising provider costs and inflation?
• What support can be offered to Shared Ownership tenants given the impact of leasehold properties?
• What impact, if any, are changing sector regulations having on the Shared Ownership and Right to Shared Ownership Scheme?
• Is there a lack of mortgage providers for Shared Ownership properties?
• What challenges are associated with repair costs being covered by those utilising the Shared Ownership schemes?
• How viable is full ownership through the Shared Ownership scheme and/or the Right to Shared Ownership Scheme?
• Does the Right to Shared Ownership policy in its current form reduce homeownership risks for individuals from lower income backgrounds?
• What more can be done to secure the Shared Ownership scheme as an affordable route into home ownership?
• How does the variation of costs from Housing Associations and other providers impact the Shared Ownership Scheme and the experience of tenants or potential buyers?
• What should be done to improve the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ data collection regarding Shared Ownership and the Right to Shared Ownership?
• Are alternative schemes such as ‘Rent to Buy’ viable and do they offer more value for money?
• What more should be done to support first time buyers and those from lower hold incomes onto the property ladder?

Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee said: "Affordability of housing and home ownership is a key policy area, especially for first-time buyers during a cost-of-living crisis. Shared ownership has, in the past, been hailed as an answer to the housing crisis for younger people, offering the cheapest way to get on the housing ladder.

“In the Committee’s inquiry, we want to examine some of the barriers to home ownership through the Shared Ownership schemes in England and also look at issues such as the challenges faced by people in reselling these properties. We want to explore whether shared ownership is providing the right answer for those people locked out of traditional home ownership and who are hit by rocketing private rents."

The inquiry is accepting evidence until Thursday, 14 September 2023.

Lottie Winson