Rother Living

Understanding Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership allows you to part buy and part rent a home. This means you can purchase a share in a property, while the landlord (in this case, the Council) retains the remainder, which you pay rent on.

Purchasing a Share

You can initially buy between 2 percent and 75 percent of the property and pay rent on the rest. The rent is capped at 2.75 percent of the unowned share, paid monthly. This arrangement allows you to build equity in a property, which can be a better option than private renting.

Property Types Available

We offer houses and flats through shared ownership. Additionally, we have flats available through Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) for people aged 55 and over, providing a variety of options to suit your needs.

Buying the Entire Property

In most cases, you can eventually purchase 100 percent of the freehold for houses and 100 percent of the lease for flats. This process is known as staircasing. For OPSO, ownership is capped at 75 percent, but no rent is required at this point. As you increase your share, your rent decreases. For example, if you increase your ownership from 25 percent to 50 percent, you will only pay rent on the remaining 50 percent. Note that some new developments may have estate service charges, even after staircasing to 100 percent ownership.

Making Changes to Your Home

You can redecorate and make changes to your property. However, for significant changes like a new kitchen or structural modifications, you should contact us to ensure you do not invalidate any building warranties. All our properties come with a 12-month defect period.

New Build Properties

Currently, all our shared ownership properties are new builds.

Additional Requirements

Like any property purchase, you will need a solicitor for the legal process, a deposit, and possibly a mortgage advisor if needed.

Ground Rent

There is no ground rent payable on any of our shared ownership leases.

Responsibility for Repairs

You are responsible for the full costs of maintaining your property. However, as our properties are new builds, they come with defect periods and warranties. You will also be responsible for council tax, utility bills, and other typical property expenses.

Service Charges

Service charges may include:

• Management fees for RMBC running the service.
• Building insurance until you staircase out.
• Estate costs for ground maintenance of shared communal areas.
• Communal cleaning for internal shared areas in blocks of flats.
• Sinking funds for future major repairs, such as roof repairs in blocks of flats.

Service charges are paid monthly via direct debit, along with your rent.

Older Persons Shared Ownership

Older Persons Shared Ownership is available for those over 55, allowing you to downsize and release equity. This scheme works similarly to shared ownership, but ownership is capped at 75 percent, with no rent required at this point.

Available Properties for OPSO

We have 15 two-bedroom flats in Maltby under OPSO, with lift access to each floor and off-road parking. This site is now fully occupied, however to register your interest for any re-sale properties, please contact the shared ownership team on 01709 822215 or email sharedownership@rotherham.gov.uk

Application Process

Once you have found an available home that you are interested in, contact the sales and marketing agent to register your interest. They will check your eligibility, arrange viewings and conduct financial checks. They can refer you to mortgage advisors and solicitors, or you can choose your own. RMBC will approve your application once all necessary documents are submitted. You will then pay a £250 reservation fee and instruct your solicitors to proceed with the legal process. Once a completion date is agreed, the sales partner will meet you on-site for the handover.

Eligibility Criteria

For standard shared ownership (not OPSO), your household income must be below £80,000 per year, you must have a regular income, and you must not own a home. If you do own a home, it must be sold before purchasing a shared ownership property. Our sales partners will help determine the percentage share you can afford. The criteria for OPSO are slightly different, allowing for more savings as it typically attracts those closer to retirement and downsizing.

Selling Your Property

You can sell your shared ownership property in the future. Homes England requires us to check if anyone on our waiting list is interested in your property first. If not, you can sell on the open market through an estate agent, provided the buyer meets the shared ownership criteria.

Valuing the Property

The property's value is determined by a RICS surveyor based on the current market value. For example, if you purchase 25 percent of a £100,000 property for £25,000, and the market value increases to £125,000, your 25 percent share would then be worth £31,250.