Shared Ownership Staircasing: How It Works and What It Costs
Shared ownership staircasing is how you increase the share of your home that you own, over time. It’s a real, practical route from part-owner to full owner, but there are costs to think about beyond the price of the share itself, and the maths doesn’t always work in your favour depending on where you are in the process, what your rate looks like, and whether you’re planning to sell soon.
Here, we break down how staircasing works, what it costs, how to fund it, what changes with your rent, and the mistakes people most often make.
What is shared ownership staircasing and why do people do it?
Shared ownership staircasing is the process of increasing the share you own in your property. When you first bought under the scheme, you would typically have purchased a share between 25% and 75%, sometimes lower, and you pay rent to the housing association on the portion you don’t own. Staircasing simply means buying more of that property.
The amount you can buy at any one time is dictated by the housing association and your lease. It’s often a minimum of 5%, 10% or 15% per transaction, and there’s usually a wait of at least one year post-purchase before you can staircase for the first time. In practice that’s rarely a problem, most people aren’t looking to do it inside the first year anyway.
There’s a legal process involved, because you’re updating the ownership share on the property. Your solicitor deals with the Land Registry and any additional mortgage funding required, and the housing association is involved to confirm their process and the amount you’re buying.
The main reasons people staircase are:
Increased ownership: You own more of the property outright.
Lower outgoings on rent: The less of the property the housing association owns, the less rent you pay.
More equity in the future: If you sell later, the more you own of the property, the more you take out of the sale.
What does staircasing to 100% mean, and can everyone do it?
Staircasing to 100% means full ownership, no housing association involvement, no rent to pay. There can still be other costs like service charges if the property is leasehold, but the shared ownership element ends. You own the property outright.
The benefit of getting to 100% is real. If you decide to sell, you don’t have to sell under the shared ownership scheme, you can sell it on the open market like any other property. And if you decide to keep it and let it out as an investment, that becomes an option too, with no housing association element to work around.
Not everyone can staircase to 100%, though. Some lease provisions cap the maximum share you can own, often at 80%. If the property is mortgaged, most mortgage lenders require the property to be capable of being purchased up to 100% at some point, so if you have a shared ownership mortgage, chances are you can staircase to full ownership eventually. Where the cap is more common is with cash-funded shared ownership purchases where no mortgage was involved. It’s rare, but not impossible.
What costs should you budget for beyond the share price?
Beyond the cost of the additional share itself, there are three main costs:
RICS valuation: The housing association requires a separate valuation carried out by a RICS-qualified surveyor. You pay for this, and it’s sent to the housing association.
Legal fees: Your solicitor will handle the transaction. There may also be housing association or management company admin fees involved in updating the ownership share.
Potential stamp duty: This depends on the choice you made when you originally purchased. At initial purchase, you had the option to pay stamp duty just on the share you were buying, or on the full market value at that point. If you paid it on the share only, you may have stamp duty to pay on each subsequent staircase. If you’re unsure which route you took, check with your original purchasing solicitor.
How does the RICS valuation work and when should it happen?
There are effectively two valuations involved:
The mortgage lender’s valuation: If you’re funding the staircase via a mortgage, the lender will carry out their own valuation for lending purposes. That’s usually free and doesn’t get released to you, they simply confirm whether they agree with the property value.
The RICS valuation for the housing association: This is separate, and it’s what determines how much your additional share actually costs. A RICS valuation is typically valid for three months, so timing matters. You want the valuation to happen within a three-month window of the whole transaction completing.
If you’re lining up the staircase with a remortgage, don’t get the RICS valuation done too early. Ideally, it isn’t carried out until the final three months of the remortgage process, otherwise it can expire before completion, and you may have to pay for a new one or an extension.
Can you remortgage to fund staircasing?
Yes. Remortgaging and raising capital for the purpose of staircasing is widely accepted by lenders. Some will even go above their standard loan-to-value caps in this scenario, because the reason for the raise is going directly into the ownership of the property, it isn’t unsecured debt or a third-party purpose. It benefits the lender too, because more of the property is owned outright.
A few points to consider:
If you’re not going to 100%, the lender still has to take into account the rent you’ll pay on the share you don’t own. That’s a monthly commitment, and it feeds into affordability alongside the new mortgage.
Not every lender does shared ownership. If you’re staircasing all the way to 100%, most lenders can help because the shared ownership element ends. But if there’s still a shared ownership element after the staircase, you need a lender who accepts that.
Does affordability work differently from a standard remortgage?
If you’re staircasing to 100%, not massively. There’s no shared ownership element left, no rent, no extra outgoing to factor in, it’s a standard remortgage from that point onwards.
If you’re staircasing to less than 100%, the main difference is the rent you’ll continue to pay on the unowned share. That gets counted as an ongoing commitment in the affordability calculation, which a standard remortgage wouldn’t have. Beyond that, the assessment is fairly standard.
What happens to your rent when you buy a larger share?
The rent reduces in line with the share you buy. Rent is usually charged as a flat percentage of the value of the share the housing association still owns, so the more you own, the less you pay.
Some housing associations will also waive the rent entirely once you reach a certain shareholding, 80% or 85% is a common threshold, though it’s very housing association specific. Check your lease and confirm with them directly, because it can be a real benefit if it’s an option on your property.
When might staircasing not be cost-effective?
Staircasing isn’t always the right move. It’s worth thinking twice if:
You’re struggling to cover the additional costs. The legal work, potential stamp duty, valuation and any extra mortgage fees still have to be paid, on top of the price of the share itself.
You’re planning to sell in the near future. Paying extra interest on a share you don’t currently own, and taking on additional mortgage costs, doesn’t necessarily make sense if the mortgage is going to be redeemed within a short time anyway.
It’s always worth running the numbers before committing, particularly if a sale is on the horizon.
Common mistakes people make when staircasing
The most common issue is timing it wrong. Staircasing in the middle of a fixed rate deal, before you know what your rate options will be when the fix ends, or what your overall outgoings will look like, can be more expensive than it needs to be.
There’s also an expectation issue worth flagging. Shared ownership rent tends to be RPI or inflation-linked, and in a lot of cases the rent on the unowned share can currently be cheaper than the mortgage cost on the same share, because lenders stress-test at a higher rate. That means when you staircase, your overall monthly outgoings can actually go up rather than down, at least in the short term.
The point isn’t that staircasing is a bad move, it’s that you shouldn’t necessarily expect to pay less immediately. What you’re doing is increasing ownership, building equity, and reducing exposure to rent inflation over the long term. That’s where the benefit sits.
What to check in your lease and finances before you start
Before you speak to your housing association or a mortgage broker, check the following in your lease:
The staircasing provisions: How much can you staircase by each time? Is there a minimum increment?
The maximum shareholding: Can you staircase all the way to 100%, or is there a cap?
The process: Some housing associations have a set list of valuers you have to instruct for the RICS valuation, and some have a recommended list of solicitors. It can be quite strict, so it’s worth checking their requirements before you make any decisions.
Getting a clear picture of the process from the housing association side, and your rate and remortgage position from the mortgage side, makes the whole thing much easier to plan.
Talk to Heron Financial
This article is general information, not personal financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does shared ownership staircasing cost in total?
Beyond the price of the share itself, most people should budget around £2,000 to £2,500 for a typical staircase transaction, covering the RICS valuation, legal fees and any housing association admin fees. Stamp duty may be added on top depending on how you paid at initial purchase.
Is the additional share priced at what I paid originally, or at current market value?
Current market value. The RICS valuation is what sets the cost of the additional share, so if the property has gone up in value since you bought, your additional share costs more. If it's gone down, it costs less.
Can I staircase in 1% increments?
Under the 2021 shared ownership model, you can staircase in 1% increments once a year for the first 15 years after purchase. Under older schemes, the minimum increment is typically 5% or 10%. Your lease will confirm which applies to your property.
Does my service charge go down when I staircase?
No. Service charges are usually paid in full by the leaseholder regardless of how much of the property you own. Staircasing reduces your rent, not your service charge.
Do I have to pay stamp duty every time I staircase?
It depends on the option you took at initial purchase. If you paid stamp duty on the full market value upfront, you generally won't pay again on subsequent staircases. If you paid only on your initial share, stamp duty may apply on each staircase. Check with your solicitor if you're unsure.
Can I staircase if I'm mid-way through a fixed-rate mortgage?
You can, but you'll need to consider early repayment charges on the current deal, or wait until the fix ends. In many cases it's more cost-effective to time the staircase to line up with the end of your current fixed rate.
Does staircasing to 100% mean I own the property outright with no restrictions?
Yes, in most cases. Once you own 100%, the shared ownership element ends and you own the property like any other homeowner, free to sell on the open market or let it out. Some leases retain a small number of provisions even at 100%, so it's worth checking your lease with your solicitor.