Buying more shares in your shared ownership home (staircasing)
Percentage share you can buy
The percentage share of your property that you can buy through staircasing depends on when your lease began.
Check when your lease began
If your lease began before April 2021
If the lease began before April 2021, you can usually buy shares of 10% or more at any time. Some older leases only allow you to buy shares of 25% or more at a time.
If your lease began in or after April 2021
If the lease began in or after April 2021, you can buy shares of 5% or more at any time.
You may also be able to buy shares of 1% each year for the first 15 years. Ask your landlord if this applies to you.
Working out the cost of the new share
The cost of the new share will depend on how much your home is worth when you want to buy more shares.
You’ll need to pay for a valuation by a surveyor who is registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The landlord will let you know whether they’ll arrange the valuation or if you need to arrange it yourself. The landlord will tell you the price of the share after the valuation.
If you decide to buy more shares, you must buy them within 3 months of the valuation date or the home will need to be revalued.
Buying shares of 1% or more – gradual staircasing
If you bought your home from April 2021, you may be able to buy shares of 1% each year for the first 15 years. Check with your landlord if this applies to you.
You cannot buy shares of 2%, 3% or 4%.
If you have not used your option to buy a 1% share in any year, you cannot roll it over into the next year.
How the cost of each 1% share is worked out
The cost of each 1% share will be based on the original price of your home, increased or decreased in line with the House Price Index (HPI).
Your landlord will give you an HPI valuation at least once a year or whenever you ask to buy a 1% share. You or your landlord can choose to use a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) valuation instead of HPI.
Whoever asks for the RICS valuation must pay for it. The most recent RICS valuation will be used as the basis for future HPI valuations.
Your landlord cannot charge you an administration fee for 1% staircasing.
How home improvements affect a valuation
If you’ve made home improvements that increase your home’s value, the valuation must show 2 amounts:
- your home’s current market value, including any increase because of home improvements
- the value, ignoring improvements
If you had your landlord’s written permission to make the improvements, any increase in value is not included when calculating the cost of buying additional shares. This is so you’re not paying extra for work you have funded.
If you did not get your landlord’s written permission, the cost of the additional shares is based on the current market value. This cost is likely to be higher.
Example: working out the cost of shares when you’ve made home improvements
You bought a 25% share of a property valued at £300,000. The housing association owns 75%.
You later add a new kitchen costing £10,000.
After a few years, the home is revalued at £340,000 without taking the improvements into account.
You would like to buy 10% more shares in your home.
| If you had permission to make the improvements | If you did not have permission to make the improvements |
|---|---|
| The housing association ignores your kitchen in the valuation and uses £340,000 as the home’s value | The kitchen is included in the valuation and the valuation is £350,000 |
| Cost of 10% more shares is £34,000 (10% of £340,000) | Cost of 10% more shares is £35,000 (10% of £350,000) |
| You pay £34,000 | You pay £35,000 |
| The kitchen is fully yours | You share the value of the kitchen with your housing association in proportion to the share of the lease you each own |
- Last updated:
- 15 June 2026
- Next review:
- 12 December 2026
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