Staircasing – building your equity

You’ve gone through the exciting process of finding, viewing, and purchasing your Shared Ownership home. You’ve settled in comfortably, but getting onto the property ladder is just the beginning, not the end of your journey.

Whether you’re thinking about buying additional shares or eventually owning your home outright, here’s what you need to know about your options moving forward.

As your financial situation improves, you have the option to increase your ownership in your home by purchasing more shares – a process called ‘staircasing’. This is entirely optional, so you can decide whether or not it’s right for you.

The more shares you own, the less rent you pay on the remaining portion. In many cases, you can buy up to 100% of your property.

When you own it fully, you won’t pay rent anymore, only your mortgage, plus any service charges or ground rent.

The price for additional shares will be based on the current open market value of your home. For example, if your property is valued at £300,000 and you want to buy a further 25%, you would pay £75,000 for that share.

The six steps to staircasing

Step One
Check your lease and value of your home

Step Two
Speak to an independent financial advisor or mortgage lender

Step Three
RICS valuation

Step four
Valuation received and accepted

Step five
Solicitors instructed

Step six
Completion

Your next step

We’ve partnered with Stairpay to make your shared ownership journey as smooth and informed as possible.

Through our collaboration, you’ll have free access to their intuitive affordability calculator, designed to help you understand what you can afford, how much your home might be worth today, and how your monthly rent could change as you buy more shares.

  • Estimate your home’s current value: Stairpay uses the UK House Price Index (HPI) to give you a reliable estimate of your property’s value – helping you understand what your current or future shares could be worth.
  • See how your rent could change over time: Planning to staircase? The calculator shows you how your rent might reduce as you increase your ownership – helping you make informed financial decisions.
  • Test different scenarios to find what works for you: Not sure how many extra shares to buy? Use the built-in scenario tools to explore different options and see how each one affects your monthly costs.
  • Calculations will be subject to your rent review period.