Staircasing

As a shared owner, you can buy a bigger share of your home when you can afford to. This is called staircasing. It will mean you own more of your home. The more you own, the less rent you’ll pay. 

You’ll also benefit from any increase in house prices. The more of your home that you own, the greater you’ll benefit if its value increases.

If you staircase up to 100 percent ownership, you’ll have a better choice of mortgages and will be able to sell the property on the open market, if your lease allows.

You can staircase as many times as you like until you own your home outright. Most people will staircase two or three times before they own 100 percent of their home. The minimum percentage you can staircase by is 10 percent and then in 5 percent increments i.e. 10 percent, 15 percent, 20 percent etc.

If you’d like to staircase, please complete our Staircasing enquiry form below. By submitting the form you’re agreeing that you’ve read and understood our Staircasing fact sheet[pdf] 335KB, which provides a guide to the process and an overview of associated costs.

Staircasing enquiry form

If you have any questions about staircasing, call us on  01245 615 046 to speak to our specialist team or email staircasing@chp.org.uk.

How buying more shares in your home will reduce the amount of rent you pay

What will my new monthly rent be if I buy a bigger share?

The larger the percentage share you purchase, the more your monthly rent payments will reduce by. Here are two examples.

Example one

You currently own 35 percent of your home and would like to buy a further 15 percent, taking your overall ownership to 50 percent:

• current share owned 35 percent;
• current monthly rent payment (excluding service charges) £524.00;
• new monthly rent payment following staircasing by 15 percent = £403.08.

Example two

You currently own 35 percent of your home and wish to buy a further 35 percent, taking your overall ownership to 70 percent:

• current share owned 35 percent;
• current monthly rent payment (excluding service charges) £524.00;
• new monthly rent payment following staircasing by 35 percent = £241.85.

How much will the value of the share I’d like to buy cost?

The price you pay for buying more shares is based on the current market value of your home at the time you wish to purchase the shares. For example, if the current market value of your home is £300,000, to buy an additional 25 percent share it will be £75,000.