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Original poster

Calling all Shared Ownership part owners!

26 replies

BooseysMom · 06/03/2019 19:42

Hi, has anyone just had a rent increase on their shared ownership property? After being trapped privately renting for 20 years with no hope of buying our own home, at last a lifeline in the form of a shared ownership house. We were desperate, had a young child in a damp ridden house costing £600 p/m. The only good thing is the landlord never increased the rent in the 8 years we were there. Now we knew what we were signing up to with this SO house and we've ploughed all our savings into the deposit and fees. Then after a year being in our new place DH is made medically redundant. So we're getting worried now. Then the rent is increased by well over the 1.5-3% per year we were told, putting it up by £120 p/a. We only have my wage of £600 p/m now. So my question is can they increase the rent by this much every year? If they can and do we may as well book our place in the homeless hostel now! Thanks in advance x

OP posts:
Softleftpowerstance · 06/03/2019 19:49

Yes it’s completely normal to get a rent increase every April. (The same happens to social tenants). Check your lease but it’s likely pegged to inflation. Do you pay a service charge? They’re not regulated so can be an even nastier surprise.

You may be entitled to housing benefit on the rental portion so look into that. But from your op you only have to find £10 a month and you’ve got a whole year before it rises again so plenty of time to look at job options for you and your DP.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 06/03/2019 20:03

@Softleftpowerstance.. Thank you for the advice. I guess I stupidly assumed it would only increase by about £2 p/m! If it goes up that much year on year then how can it be classed as an affordable way of (part) owning a home?! The HA are obv making a killing seeing as they don't even have to lift a finger regarding repairs & maintenance. Now we'll have a rent similar to private rent costs plus a mortgage on top! We would have been better off in social housing! Strangely the service charge has not increased by more than a pound a month.

OP posts:
Softleftpowerstance · 06/03/2019 20:20

Social rents go up by more than inflation each year too! It’s government policy and doesn’t feel very fair if you’ve paying it but is unfortunately now how affordable housing is funded. Your rent should still be less than an equivalent private rent. Try not to panic based on the news - I know I do that too. Over time you might increase the share you own (reducing the rent) or your income might go up.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 06/03/2019 20:26

It's not fair as once you're in they obv can charge what they like! We were told to expect a rent increase of 1.5-2% per year. In just 3 years we will be payng the same amount as private rent with a £300 mortgage on top ..so £900 for a 2 bed semi. We're stuffed! Thanks HA!

OP posts:
Rarfy · 06/03/2019 20:26

Shared ownership here too and same rent increase. I expected about £10 per month each year tbh but i see what you're saying how will it be affordable eventually?

I think this is why people advise against shared ownership - i know when we were first looking into it a lot of people were saying it is a bad idea.

We are like you though were living in a damp house in a not very nice area with a baby on the way. Would have had to pay 200+ to get a better private rented house.

SlangBack · 06/03/2019 20:32

If your private landlord had increased the rent and you were not able to pay the extra, you would have to find a new home, pay a letting agency the admin fee, find a larger deposit, & pay removal costs.

That could have happened roughly 3 times in the past 8 years plus of course the stress of it all.

Imagine if the landlord had said "Im selling, you have the legal 8 week notice period to find another home"

It is so stressful. You wont have to worry about that.

Im in S.O, it probably has gone up by about £30 a month in the past 5 years. I get a pay rise every April (not much at all) but still it all helps.

It will be worth it.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 06/03/2019 20:51

OMG WHAT HAVE WE DONE?!!
This is what desperation does to you..all we wanted was to provide a secure hone for our child and so moved from private renting.. Now it looks like we won't be able to afford the so-called affordable house we only part own! Staircasing not an option now either due to DH out of work
Thanks everyone for your replies x

OP posts:
SlangBack · 06/03/2019 21:20

As your mortgage deals ends every 2 or 5 years, you look for a good deal, mine has always been cheaper than the previous deal, so you save that way.

MinecraftMother · 06/03/2019 21:26

It will be in your lease. Read it.

mumsy27 · 07/03/2019 01:49

we pay around £340 p/m rent for 50%share
service charge £95 p/m ( lift maintenance is expensive)
property value around 400K, 2bed flat.
shared owner since 2003.
£120 p/m increase is very steep,did you get a letter saying that?
how much percentage you own.
it is only fair you pay rent for portion you don't own.
in my case if i had to rent the 50% privately ,it would cost me at least £750 p/m(50% only),based in London.
you can claim help with the rent side if you fall into hardship.

SlangBack · 07/03/2019 05:15

mumsy27 It is an increase of £120 a year not a month.

OP is taking home £600 a month in wages, so could possibly get some help.

ColeHawlins · 07/03/2019 05:45

£600 wages pcm plus spouse unfit for work plus child will entitle you to a hefty top up. No need to panic.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 07/03/2019 09:01

Thanks everyone. We were never given a copy of the lease so can't check atm.
I know it doesn't seem like much compared to other increases but we're not in London but rural Worcs and if it increases by just £120 a year in 3 years we will be paying the same we were paying when privately renting plus with a mortgage for the 44% we're buying. Has anyone done stair casing?

OP posts:
Tractortod · 07/03/2019 11:22

I'm really not seeing the panic here. It's £10pm.

You need to take a breath, find out what help you are entitled to and then look at job options for you & DP moving forward.

Mrscog · 07/03/2019 15:42

I live in Worcs - £900 per month is more than a normal mortgage on a 2 bed semi around here. Are you sure you've thought this all through OP? You could just buy a house normally.

Mrscog · 07/03/2019 15:43

Also, so you moved to simply save £30 per month? I'm not trying to be snipey but something about this just doesn't add up!

mumwon · 07/03/2019 15:54

if you look on line you will probably find the terms & conditions if not contact the office they will probably have copies

Original poster
BooseysMom · 07/03/2019 18:08

Thanks everyone. I'm just panicking over nothing probably as it could be a lot worse. It's only cos we were told it wouldn't increase every year and if it did it would be by only approx £20 per year, not month. So we were never given a copy of our lease or any other info relating to the rent which is wrong. We didn't know what to expect and were in a desperate situation with a young child in a damp house with no outside space. We didn't move to save £30 p/m! We moved to escape the rented house we were in and the tosser of a landlord we had! Oh and we couldnt get a mortgage on the open market as the house is valued £220k so on my lousy £600 p/m and my DH's wage as postman there was no way we could get one.

OP posts:
SlangBack · 07/03/2019 19:35

Private rent will have increased in 3 years time as well.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 07/03/2019 21:03

True..i think we were just so lucky to never get a rent increase in 8 years..but then the landlord knew there were damp issues. Guess it's all up from here!

OP posts:
Chocolatedeficitdisorder · 07/03/2019 22:09

Surely if it goes up by £120 each year, you'll be paying £370pm in 3 years? Not £600 plus a mortgage.

Are you confused or am I?

mumsy27 · 08/03/2019 02:20

SlangBack, sorry i meant per annum.

£120 p/a increase is steep, 15 years SO and i only pay 340.
your calculation is wrong somewhere.

OP, staircasing is very straightforward, feel free to ask any questions.

Original poster
BooseysMom · 08/03/2019 13:50

@Chocolatedeficitdisorder. Omg how did I come to that figure?!. .even DH agreed and he has just taken GCSE Maths and got grade equivalent to B! I don't get where I got that from, so sorry Confused

mumsy27.. thank you v much. So you think £120 p/a is steep? I did as well tbh but then most here are saying it's not much of a rise. Maybe it's just to do with location. I have found out our house has gone up in value since moving here a year ago so that has put the rent up. Re. Staircasing I don't think we were allowed to purchase more than 44% when we bought the house but we are allowed to 100% staircase. It's just a matter of whether we can afford to as we'd have to pay solicitors fees again. Have you managed to buy more shares then?

OP posts:
mumsy27 · 09/03/2019 02:33

I'm in process of purchasing the remaining 50%
You don't need to go through same process as buying first time.
You don't need a deposit for example.
Application would cost around 250
Further advance from the bank would cost 200(fees) you need to prove your income to borrow more.
Solicitor around 500
Valuation around 250
You won't be paying anymore rent Smile

Original poster
BooseysMom · 09/03/2019 14:37

@Mumsy27...Thanks v much for the info. Well going on those figures we def won't be able to afford it for a while. DH will need to get a job first which might take ages. But useful for future ref. At least I know we've got what we can afford as long as they don't increase the rent by too much every year Hmm

OP posts:
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