£75k for a new build, seems suspicious

[MyDeepPearlNewt]

3 bedroom townhouse in a very nice area, built in 2026, solder panel system and only £39 a month maintenance fee, 75k 50% ownership and £300 rental. It sounds too good to be true right?

Shared ownership is really not buying a house in the traditional sense. You would be simply transferring from having one landlord who takes responsibility for the costs of maintenance - to having 2 landlords who pass all the costs of ownership to you :/
You can't do what you want with the property but need to take on all the negatives. Your stuck if you need to sell too, as you don't have the power to even set the price..

Shared ownership is a great way to get a long term home you couldn’t otherwise afford. But it isn’t quite the same as normal ownership. You are more like a long term tenant and are paying rent on part of the property. That means you can’t move elsewhere and rent out your home, and you can’t easily extend or remodel the house. There are many more rules than if you own outright. This can also make it harder to see the house when you want to move on.

these homes are a great scheme for the right people but do look at the details of what you are signing up to.

Sounds like an error, maybe they mean 25% rather than 50%.

You’ll need to ask them to clarify.

Exactly. You don’t really buy the house with shared ownership, you just pay rental in two parts. Part of it up front in a lump sum and the rest you pay monthly.

There was a court case a while ago where the ‘owner’ fell behind with monthly rental payments and the landlord tried to repossess the property. The home ‘owner’ argued that they owned half the property (mortgage payments all up to date) so that half couldn’t repossessed. The judge ruled that the Landlord was entitled to repossess the whole property.

I’d check out if there are maintenance fees for any communal land/road/landscaping? Also if the 50% ownership scheme is definitely a freehold arrangement, i.e not a leasehold.

Shared ownership is always leasehold.

Not if you are in Scotland where leasehold does not exist.

OP - are you sure there is not a 'from' in front of all the figures here?

That said, I live on a new build and my street is about 50% social housing. Half are rented and half are part ownership. To qualify for rental you had to have 'need' demonstrated and for the part ownership you also had to go through a check of sorts.

You of course are going to pay mortgage part plus rental part, not one or the other.

Solar panels on new build = trick the energy calculations. In reality by 6 panels have generated about £2 a week over the two months since I moved in, with one day where they suddenly did £2 under a clearer sky! Every little helps though.

I also have two family members who started with part ownership. It worked really well for them as they both ramped up the percentage the owned every couple of years as mortgage ticked over and their pay had risen. Worth doing the maths well on it and speaking to folk who can advise locally on it.

I’ve some more questions, OP -
Who are you paying the rental portion to? I guess that’s who you have “shared ownership” with; what’s the chances of that changing, specifically could that be sold to another landlord & what are the rent controls?

What sized property will you be getting for your £75k plus £3,600 current annual rental? Is it big enough for your needs?

You won"t own it though you will have mortgage debt AND rent? New Build sales are down over 60% in some areas, are you sure you can"t find a better deal? What are service charges like? Excessive service charges could mean never being able to sell it.

it is extremely rare for shared ownership to be with with anyone other than an RSL (Registered Social Landlord) which means a council or more typically a housing association.

the Govt imposes legal limits on rent increases for RSL
Limit on annual rent increases 2025-26 - from April 2025 - GOV.UK

Thanks @Wot23 that’s helpful.

@MyDeepPearlNewt have you decided what to do?