Costs involved in shared ownership
How much it costs to buy a shared ownership property
If you decide to buy a shared ownership property you’ll need to pay:
- legal fees
- a deposit (usually between 5% and 10% of the share you’re buying)
- costs of a mortgage valuation
You may also need to pay for:
- your housing provider’s legal fees
- a reservation fee, to reserve the home you want
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
- a financial assessment with a financial adviser
- a survey to inspect the condition of the property (optional)
Legal fees
You’ll need a conveyancer (solicitor) to do the legal work for buying a property. You may also need to pay towards the housing provider’s legal fees. Ask them in advance.
Your housing provider will suggest a conveyancer for you to use, but you can choose your own, as long as the housing provider approves them.
Deposit
You’ll need to pay a deposit. This is usually between 5% and 10% of the share you’re buying.
For example, if you’re buying 25% of a property worth £400,000, your share would cost £100,000. This means you’d need to pay a deposit of between £5,000 and £10,000.
Reservation fee
When you find a property you want to buy, you need to pay the housing provider a reservation fee to secure it. The fee will be taken off the final amount you pay when you complete the purchase.
Financial assessment
The housing provider (housing association) will arrange for you to have a financial assessment with a financial adviser they choose. This is to work out how much of the property you can afford to buy.
The total monthly cost of your mortgage, rent and service charges must be no more than 45% of your take home pay (your income after tax has been deducted).
And your total mortgage amount should be no more than 4.5 times your gross annual income (your salary before tax deductions).
You do not have to buy the maximum share you can afford. You can choose to buy less.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
You may have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) when you buy a property through a shared ownership scheme.
You can choose to either:
- make a one-off payment based on the market value of the property (“market value election”)
- pay stamp duty in stages
If you’re a first-time buyer and buying your first share, you may be able to reduce the amount of tax you pay by claiming relief. See guidance on Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for land or property transactions on GOV.UK.
Example of the cost of buying a shared ownership property
| Reservation fee | £300 |
| Your conveyancer (solicitor) fees | £2,000 |
| Landlord's conveyancer legal admin fees | £400 |
| 10% deposit on a 25% share | £10,000 |
| Survey | £1,500 |
| Mortgage valuation | £300 |
| Total cost (to buy the property) | £14,500 |
- Last updated:
- 15 June 2026
- Next review:
- 15 June 2028
Related content
Checklist to help you gather then information you need before buying a shared ownership property
Advice guideYour options to increase the share of the property you own (staircasing)
Advice guideWhen to extend your shared ownership lease, and the process for getting a lease extension
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