You can choose to sell your Shared Ownership home at any time.
If you own all of your Shared Ownership home, you can sell it as you would any other property through an estate agent.
If you own a share of your property, the housing association who owns the other share will usually try to find a buyer for you.
They do this to help other first-time buyers who are interested in Shared Ownership properties onto the property ladder.
If they don’t manage to find a buyer within eight weeks, you’re free to advertise on the open market with an estate agent.
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Is it hard to sell a Shared Ownership property?
Because your housing association helps you to find a buyer, in some ways it can be easier.
They may also have recommended surveyors and photographers on their books for you to use.
And they can help with providing vital information that your buyer will need, such as the Leasehold Information Form.
That said, there are extra processes involved with selling a Shared Ownership home.
You'll need to have the property valued by a RICS chartered surveyor before you can put it up for sale.
You may need to pay for your housing association's legal fees as well as your own when selling your home.
And you'll need to pay for that Leasehold Information Form for your buyer, which will cost around £200 to £300, as all Shared Ownership homes are leasehold.
Thinking of selling?
Get the ball rolling with an in-person valuation of your home. It’s free and there’s no obligation to sell if you change your mind.
What are the steps involved in selling a Shared Ownership Property?
1. Check your lease
Every Shared Ownership housing association or local authority will have its own way of selling a shared ownership home, so it's best to check your lease first when deciding to sell.
Your lease will outline all of the terms and procedures you'll need to follow throughout the selling process.
It will contain information on how your home is valued, who pays for what in the selling process and give details of any restrictions that might be in place when you come to sell your home.
2. Contact your housing provider
Your housing provider or local authority normally has eight weeks to try and find a buyer for you.
They'll charge you marketing fees of around £350 for this service, which will cover the costs for photographs, floor plans and advertising the property.
They should then arrange a convenient time for viewings with you.
Once a buyer is found, they'll check that they're able to meet the mortgage requirements for the property.
If they fail to find a buyer in that time, you're free to advertise with an estate agent. But the agent will need to find you a Shared Ownership buyer.
Shared Ownership buyers must earn £80,000 or less, rising to £90,000 or less in London, and have a big enough deposit to buy your share of the property.
3. Get your home valued by a RICS surveyor
Your home’s market value will be determined by an independent RICS surveyor.
Fees for a valuation can range between £240 to £500.
To get the ball rolling, your housing provider will usually have a list of surveyors available for you to choose from.
4. Instruct a solicitor
Once the valuation has been done on your home, you’ll need to think about instructing a solicitor to help you with the sale.
You may need to pay the legal fees for your housing provider, which are usually around £500, as well as your own legal fees.
Check the terms of your lease to find out.
It’s important to get an upfront quote from your solicitor before any work on the sale begins.
And it’s a good idea to instruct a solicitor who has experience in managing the sale of Shared Ownership properties.
You might like to revisit the solicitor who helped you to buy the property, as they’ll already know quite a bit about it when it comes to selling it.
5. Fill in all the relevant forms for your housing association
Your housing provider will need a few things from you when you come to sell your home.
Your completed ‘intention to sell’ form
A copy of your lease
A signed ‘selling guide sign-off’ form to confirm you’ve understood the selling process
An admin fee of around £350 to market your property and find you a buyer
You’ll be asked to choose a photographer from your housing association’s panel to take pictures of your home and upload the floor plans
And you’ll need to provide a valid Energy Performance Certificate for your home too. It’s illegal to sell any home without one
Your housing association will list your property on their sales website and possibly other Shared Ownership sites too like Share to Buy, Homes for Londoners or Property Booking.
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You’ll be sent a preview of your property listing to approve before it goes live.
Your housing association should then request convenient viewing times for you so that potential buyers can see your property.
How are buyer offers made on a Shared Ownership property?
After viewings, all interested applicants will be sent a reservation form and placed into the selection and allocation process.
The successful applicant is then issued an offer letter and required to pay a non-refundable reservation fee.
This offers security for you as the seller as it shows they’re seriously interested and committed to buying your home.
Your buyer will then be required to meet with a mortgage advisor to check they can afford to buy your share of the property.
After that, a memorandum of sale is issued to all parties so that the sale can progress.
Your solicitor can then start working to assign the lease to the new buyer.
What forms do I need to fill out when selling a Shared Ownership property?
When selling any home, you’ll need to fill out:
A Property Information Form
Otherwise known as a TA6, this form provides comprehensive information about your property to potential buyers, so they can decide whether or not to proceed with their purchase.
It looks into things like:
the property boundaries
any disputes about the property
if any building works have taken place
if the property is in a conservation area or listed
which utilities are connected to the property: gas, water, electricity, cable etc
guarantees/warranties for damp proofing, timber treatment, electrical works, roofing, central heating, underpinning, windows and glazed doors
Here’s a specimen TA6 form from The Law Society.
A Fixture and Fittings Form
This states what’s included and excluded within the sale price of the property.
It goes through everything, from the boiler and radiators through to the kitchen appliances, bathroom towel rails, carpets, curtains, cupboards and garden sheds.
You can see a specimen TA10 form from The Law Society here.
The TA10 is a legally binding document that forms part of the contract of sale.
If you’ve said it’s included, it must be included. Otherwise you may face a fine.
As all Shared Ownership homes are leasehold, you’ll also need to fill out:
A Leasehold Information Form
Sometimes known as a Management Pack, the Leasehold information form typically includes information such as three year’s worth of audited accounts.
It will cover things like building insurance documents, service charges information, fire safety reports and any key information about your property and the building.
Your housing association can supply this information. The fee for providing a Leasehold Information Form is usually around £200 to £300.
Once your solicitor has all of these forms, they’ll send them to your buyer’s solicitor, who’ll then review them and come back with any questions.
Once your buyer has their mortgage arranged, your solicitor will liaise with their solicitor to work towards dates for exchange and completion.
What if I'm unhappy with the way my housing association is handling the sale?
Sometimes, Shared Ownership owners may be unhappy with their housing association’s actions when it comes to selling their property.
If this happens, you'll need to get a copy of your housing association complaints procedure and make a formal complaint.
If the complaint isn't resolved, you can contact your local Housing Ombudsman.
This is a free service and the Ombudsman can award compensation and/or require the association to take action.
Where can I find Shared Ownership properties?
At Zoopla, we have hundreds of Shared Ownership properties available in our listings.
Use the search filter on our For Sale page and select 'Show only' next to the Shared Ownership option.
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