If you’re a shared ownership owner with us at Yorkshire Housing then that means you own between 25% and 75% of your home and we own the other portion. Your share is usually covered by a mortgage and then you pay rent on the remaining bit.
You can buy more shares in your home until you own 100%. We call this ‘staircasing’. If you’d like to buy more of your home, contact us using our contact form.
If you’ve got a share of a home with us, then you’ll find answers to the most common questions on this page. If there’s something missing, you can send us your question in our contact form.
- Paying your rent in full and on time
- Paying your service charges in full and on time
- Complying with the terms of your lease, including when:
- Making alterations to your home - here's our alterations guide
- Subletting your home - find more information in the FAQs below.
- Cleaning and maintaining shared areas
- Insuring the building – here’s a copy of our insurance policy
- Complying with the terms of our landlord covenants in your lease, deed or transfer document
If Yorkshire Housing isn’t the freeholder and doesn’t manage the building or scheme then the services mentioned above might be managed by another agency. But, don’t worry – we’ll let you know if that’s the case!
FAQs
The amount of rent on a shared ownership house can change throughout the time you live in your home. We review how much rent you pay each year in line with any increases in the retail price index (RPI).
The rent is always reviewed on an ‘upwards only’ basis. This means that the rent won’t go down when it’s reviewed. However, rent increases are capped at RPI increase plus 0.5%.
Your service charge depends on what services we provide where you live.
At the beginning of each financial year (1st April), we’ll give you an estimate of the service charge. It’ll show you what your service charge covers, what it’s likely to cost and how much your share will be. We’ll always try and stick to budget but at the end of the year we’ll let you know how much we spent. If we’ve spent less than we estimated, we’ll put your share of the difference into your account. If we’ve spent more, we might need to ask you to cover your share of the costs.
Service charges mean that we can make sure your home is looked after. The charge covers things like:
- Grass cutting and looking after shared grounds
- Cleaning of corridors of shared areas
- Buildings insurance
Some of these services are carried out by us and some are provided by other agencies that we work with.
Please let us know if there’s something you’re not happy with so we can fix things. We’re always looking at what we can do better, so it’s important that you let us know.
We’d also love to hear your positive feedback. If you’re happy with one of our services, tell us! This helps us when we’re deciding which suppliers to work with.
If you need an extra copy of your latest service charge statement, then fill out the form at the bottom of the page. Just so you know, we do charge a small admin fee of £30 for extra copies.
If you’re a shared owner your lease doesn’t allow you to sublet your home because your home needs to be your main residence.
We know that things aren’t always that straightforward though, and there are some times when you might not be able to live in your home for a period of time, for example:
- You need to move out temporarily for a caring responsibility.
- Your work means you need to temporarily relocate.
- You’re a serving member of the Armed Forces and you need to serve away from the area for a fixed period of time.
In these cases, we’ll discuss your needs and where we can, agree a temporary subletting consent with you. The maximum length of time this can be for is 12 months.
If your request doesn’t meet one of the exceptions above it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to go ahead. But we can talk to you about other options such as selling your home, taking in a lodger or buying more shares in your home.
We look at each request on a case-by-case basis so we’ll need some information from you to see if you qualify. If you’re granted consent to temporarily sublet, there will be certain conditions attached such as the type of tenancy agreement you can use and a cap on the monthly rent you can charge.
Subletting due to building safety work
If your home is being impacted by building safety work, for example when building construction is being reviewed, or there’s removal of external wall systems or cladding, you might find it difficult to sell, remortgage or buy more shares in your home.
In these circumstances, we can talk to you about your options which might include being able to sublet your home for up to two years.
If you’re concerned about building safety work, the impact on being able to sell your home or being able to afford ongoing payments then please get in touch.
Who’s responsible for repairs?
We’ve popped a handy checklist below so you can check who’s responsible for repairs. It’s slightly different depending on if you’re in a house or a flat, so just click the tab that applies to you.
If you’ve got a share of a house with us, then you’ll need to look after the inside and outside of your home. This includes:
- Heating system repairs and maintenance, including annual boiler and gas appliance checks
- Repairs and decorating (although these will need to be agreed by us. You can find out more in our alterations guide).
- Electrical wiring
- Roof guttering and other rainwater parts
- Garden, fences and hedges
- Driveway or garage
- The fabric of your building, which means materials like bricks and roof tiles.
If you do have a repair or a problem, then it’s worth checking the building insurance policy to see if it’s covered.
If you've got a share of a flat, then you’ll need to look after the inside of your home. This includes:
- Heating system repairs and maintenance, including annual boiler and gas appliance checks
- Repairs and decorating (although these will need to be agreed by us. You can find out more in our alterations permissions guide.)
- Electrical wiring that’s inside your home
- Fixtures, fittings and appliances.
We’re responsible for looking after and repairing communal areas. If you spot anything in these areas that needs fixing, then please let us know by reporting a repair.
Need to get in touch?
If you already own a share of your home, this page should’ve answered most of your questions. If you need to get in touch, just use the form below.
And if you’re interested in shared ownership houses to buy, you’ll want to head to our ‘Buy a home’ page. Happy house hunting!