Selling a Shared Ownership Property: The Complete Legal Guide

If your housing association fails to find a buyer during the nomination period, you gain the right to sell your share on the open market. In many cases, you can sell 100% of the property to a non-shared-ownership buyer through a 'Back-to-Back' completion, provided your lease allows final staircasing. This opens up the opportunity to sell through an estate agent to anyone you want.

It is a complicated process as you'll need a shared ownership solicitor who can handle the specialist work of staircasing to 100%, and also deal with the housing association requirements and deadlines. We will explain the process, costs and timeline below to help you navigate and finalise your sale.

The shared ownership selling process: step-by-step

The process is simpler if you are just selling back to the housing association. We detail in full what happens if you have to staircase.

• 1

  Get a RICS Valuation

  To work out the amount you need to pay for staircasing your share, the housing association requires a RICS valuation. The valuation is for the current market value of your property and is based on recently sold properties in the area and expires after 3 months. A RICS valuation isn't the same as an estate agent's valuation, and it must be delivered in accordance with the updated Global Standards (the ‘Red Book’), effective from 31 January 2025.
  
  We have a national network of local RICS surveyors, so get in contact if you need a valuation.

• 2

  Instruct a solicitor

  You need a specialist Shared Ownership Solicitor to handle the conveyancing. You need to provide the name of your solicitor to your housing association when you apply.
  
  We have a specialist shared ownership solicitor, so get in contact if you need help with your staircasing.

• 3

  Apply to your housing association

  Once you have your valuation and your solicitor's details, you must submit an application to your housing association, offering them the right of first refusal. This is normally a set period of time, 4, 8 or 12 weeks. Sometimes, if the valuation means the property is no longer affordable, the housing association will let you know sooner that you can staircase and sell on the open market.

• 4

  Staircase to 100% with a Final Memorandum of Staircasing

  If the housing association can't find a buyer, then they will allow you to staircase and sell the property on the open market. The Memorandum confirms that the housing association accepts your valuation and sets out the premium payable to staircase to 100%.

• 5

  Paperwork

  You complete your paperwork for your sale, including the Property Information, Fittings & Contents, and Leasehold Information (Protocol Forms).

• 6

  Leasehold Information Pack (LPE1)

  You pay your freeholder or managing agent for the Leasehold Information Pack (LPE1). This includes service charge & ground rent accounts, company accounts, Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), EWS1 Form (cladding), Asbestos Report, BSA Certificates, and information about future major works.
  
  To speed up the process, order this pack directly from your landlord/managing agent as soon as you find a buyer.

• 7

  The legal work

  Your solicitor issues draft contracts to the buyer's solicitor and provides replies to legal enquiries. The buyer's enquiries will often concern the lease, memo, service charge/ground rent accounts, deed of covenant/certificate of compliance, and completion requirements.

• 8

  Completion takes place

  There is no exchange of contracts with staircasing, so once the buyer's solicitor has funding in place and satisfied enquiries, they can progress to completion.

Shared Ownership Specialists

Let us help you with our complete service for shared ownership properties. We have all-inclusive, affordable costs for all the work you need to:

• RICS Valuations
• Staircasing Conveyancing
• Selling or buying a shared ownership property

Our panel solicitors can work with Heylo, or any housing association.

Staircasing enquiry

Trustpilot

Why is there a nomination period?

The housing association wants to keep enough housing stock to meet demand in the area, which is why they want the right to buy the property before it goes on the open market. The nomination period is a fixed term ranging from 4 to 12 weeks, and will be confirmed in your lease. The housing association uses this time to market your property to their list of prospective buyers.

If the housing association doesn't find a buyer during its nomination period, it will allow you to staircase up to 100% and sell on the open market through an estate agent. The housing association may choose not to use the nomination period if your property is no longer "affordable".

For example: If your property was valued at £300,000 when you purchased 50%, but is now valued at £500,000, then buying a 50% share is £250,000, and may make this unaffordable for any of their local applicants.

The housing association Nomination Fee

When you sell your property back to the housing association, they will charge a Nomination Fee to you. It is like an estate agent's fee and will be between 1% and 1.5% of the full market price listed in the RICS valuation. It isn't based on your owned share.

RICS Valuations vs. Estate Agent Appraisals

The housing association will only accept an independent RICS Surveyor to determine the property's current market value. The reason for this is twofold: an estate agent will look to set an asking price above the current value, and they aren't qualified to provide a current market valuation.

A RICS valuation isn't the same as an estate agent's valuation because it is delivered in accordance with the updated Global Standards (the ‘Red Book’). This is necessary because when you staircase to 100% and sell, you only need to pay the housing association the amount within the valuation report. If you sell for more than this amount, you benefit from any £1 above the valuation.

For example: Your property was valued at £300,000, and you have to buy 50% to sell 100% of the property. If you sell for £320,000, you still only need to pay £150,000 to the housing association (50% of £300,000), and you keep the extra £20,000. Conversely, if you sell for less than £300,000, it doesn't matter what you sell for; you still have to pay the housing association £150,000 because this is what the RICS Surveyor said it was worth.

Costs and Fees When Selling Shared Ownership

How long does it take to sell a shared ownership property

The time to sell depends on whether you staircase to 100%, or if you sell through the housing association.

• Staircase to 100%: It will take upwards of 16 weeks to complete. You have the nomination period, and then the period after you market through the estate agent, and then the extra legal work to staircase to 100%.
• Sell to housing association: It will take upwards of 12 weeks to complete.

You can speed up the sale process by ordering your Leasehold Information Pack (LPE1) once you find a buyer.