Eligibility for Shared Ownership
To be eligible for shared ownership, you must be able to answer YES to the following questions:
Are you at least 18 years of age?
Is your annual gross household income less than £90,000?
Are you a first time buyer, i.e. you don’t already own a home?
If you do already own a home, have you accepted an offer from a buyer and in the process of selling it?
Are you unable to afford to buy a home suitable for your housing needs on the open market? If you are not sure, you can speak to an independent mortgage advisor.
Are your current mortgage or rent payments up to date?
Do you have a good credit history (no bad debts or County Court Judgements), and can you afford the regular payments and cost involved in buying and running a home?
Do you have savings or are you able to easily access at least £4,000 to cover the costs of buying a home? This is a guideline figure, and the actual amount you need will depend on a number of factors.
Do you have enough savings or are you able to access a minimum 10% of the equity share you are buying, as a mortgage deposit? Or do you have the cash funds available to buy the share without a mortgage?
Affordability criteria for Shared Ownership
We take steps to ensure that the monthly repayments associated with owning your home will be affordable for you.
Before or after (depending on the circumstances) you have viewed a property or the off-plan marketing material, we will put you in touch with an independent financial advisor (IFA) who will complete a financial assessment based on your income, savings, credit history, outgoings and dependents.
A minimum of 25% of your net wage and 2.5% of your gross income / a maximum of 45% of your net wage and 4.5% of your gross income will be used as parameters, and you will be required to purchase the largest share you can afford to sustain as assessed by the IFA.
If you are a cash purchaser, a financial assessment will still be required to ensure that the service charge and rent payments are affordable, and to ensure that you qualify for shared ownership.
It is advisable to have at least £4,000 in savings available to cover solicitors fees, stamp duty, and other costs associated with buying a home and moving house (this is a guide figure only), as well as at least a 10% deposit for the mortgage.
You can use a mortgage calculator to give you an idea of how much you may be able to borrow.
How Applications are prioritised
Shared ownership
To reflect the Mayor of London's Homes for Londoners programme, priority will be given to British Armed Forces Personnel (serving military personnel and former members of the British Armed Forces discharged in the last 2 years). Additionally, for the first eight weeks following full market release of the properties priority will be given to applicants from the following groups, in priority order:
Council or Housing Association tenants living in Hackney (with a secure tenancy)
Other applicants living in Hackney for at least one year
Applicants working in Hackney for at least one year
Where there are multiple customers looking to purchase a home who meet the above criteria, priority will be given in the first instance to British Armed Forces Personnel, and then on a first come, first served basis (with consideration given to other factors, if required). Eight weeks after full market release we may accept applications for any homes that remain available from those living outside of Hackney.
To ensure households are not overcrowded, they will be assessed against the Government’s Allocation of Accommodation Guidance 2012 defined ‘bedroom standard’
One bedroom for each: adult couple; any other adult (aged over 16); two children of the same sex aged 10 or over; two children under 10 regardless of sex; any other child.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-housing-allocations-guidance
Outright sale
Where there are multiple customers looking to purchase a home on an otherwise comparable basis and subject to offers being made in line with current market expectations, we will give priority to current Hackney residents and workers on a first come, first served basis.
