Guide To Staircasing Amended Jan 20 V 1

STAIRCASING
A STEP-BY-STEP
GUIDE TO BUYING
MORE SHARES
IN YOUR HOME
Are you looking to buy more
1
shares of your Shared Ownership

property?
Find out more about the process

with this step-by-step guide.
Contents
2 What is Staircasing?
3 Before you start
4 The process
8 FAQ’s
10 Get in touch
12 Glossary
What is Staircasing?
After you buy your home, you can purchase more shares in
your property via a process known as staircasing. Your lease
will tell you the minimum percentage you can buy, but this
is normally at least 10%. For example, if you own 50% of your
property, you can staircase to 60%.
Any additional shares you purchase are based on the current

market value of the property. An independent valuation
will need to be carried out by a RICS independent surveyor
at the time of your application to determine this.
Once you staircase to 100% ownership you will no longer pay

rent, but you may have to pay ground rent and service charges
if you own a flat, or estate maintenance charges if you own
a house.
Some properties limit the maximum equity you can purchase

to ensure the availability of affordable Shared Ownership
homes in an area; for example, properties within a designated
protected area are limited to 80% ownership. You should
check your lease to see if this applies to your property.
Before you start
3
As a shared owner, you are entitled to buy more shares

in your home at any time. Most shared owners can buy
100% of the shares in their home so that they own the
property outright and no longer pay us any rent. There
are some older properties where you might not be able
to buy the full 100% but you can buy up to 70 or 80%.
Your lease will give you all the details.
Before you make the decision to buy more shares,

it is important to understand the costs related to the
staircasing process. This will include paying for a
valuation, a solicitor and any mortgage related costs.
In addition, your rent and service charges account
must be up to date and they must remain so throughout
the process.
The process
Step 1 — Staircasing Instruction Form

Once you’ve decided to proceed, you will need
to sign and return a Staircasing Instruction
Form within 10 working days.
This gives us all the details we need to start the

process and confirms you would like to proceed.
Please ensure that you have included any home
improvements you have carried out on the property.
If the property is owned in joint names,

all parties have to sign the Instruction Form.
A valuation of your property will be required.

You will be asked to pay for this by credit
or debit card.
Step 2 — Valuing your property

We will instruct an independent
surveyor (accredited by the Royal
Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
who will contact you to arrange
to visit and value your property.
The survey will determine the price of

your home which will take into account
any improvements you have made
or work that may now be required.
Please note that property market

values can go up or down and the
value provided by the surveyor
could be more or less than you paid.
When the valuation is received

we will discuss this with you.
5
Step 3 — Making you the offer

If you are purchasing more shares, but not
100%, we will need to ensure that you can
afford the increased mortgage payments.
You will be required to complete a financial
assessment form and may be required to
provide a mortgage Decision in Principle
or proof of savings. This is not required if
you are purchasing 100% of your property.
Once we have received the valuation report,

and a satisfactory financial assessment
(if applicable), we will send you your offer.
This sets out how much the new shares in
your property will cost and what your new
rent will be (if applicable) and we’ll also
send you a copy of the valuation report.
We will also confirm any fees due to

complete your staircasing. We’ll then
ask you to sign a form confirming your
agreement and identifying the solicitor
you wish to use.
The process
Step 4 — Buying more shares

Once we have received your signed agreement
we will instruct our solicitors to act on our
behalf for the sale of the shares. We’ll put
together a Memorandum of Sale that we’ll
send to our solicitors and we’ll send you and
your solicitor a copy. This will also identify (if
appropriate) what your new rent will be. If you
are now able to own 100% of your home, you
will no longer have to pay rent. Our solicitors
will contact yours, answer any queries they
have, await the mortgage offer (if applicable)
and agree the target completion date.
Please note that this transaction must be

completed within three months of the date
on the valuation report so it’s advisable that
you start discussing purchasing more shares
with your mortgage lender as soon as possible.
If completion takes longer than this, you may be
required to pay for an updated valuation report
and if the value changes, the transaction price
will have to be recalculated and a new Offer
Letter will be sent to you.
Step 5 — Completion
Once this has all gone through, don’t forget to
change or cancel direct debit payments with us.
FAQ’s
7
How is the purchase price calculated?

You buy the additional shares at the current market value.
For example, if you wish to buy a further 25% and your property
is valued at £200,000, the purchase price will be £50,000.
This means that the price of the new shares reflects any
changes in your home’s value.
House prices can go down as well as up so this house price

movement will be reflected in the price you pay.
What happens to my rent?

If you staircase to 100% you will no longer pay rent. If you staircase
to less than 100% your rent will decrease, and we will confirm
the new amount payable in your offer letter.
Service charges, ground rent and other fees may continue

to be payable after you staircase.
What is the minimum I can buy?

The minimum share you can purchase is 10% but you can buy
at any percentage above that if you want to and can afford it.
There may be a limit on how many times you can staircase

(see your lease) but you can staircase to 100% (subject to your
lease) in one go if you prefer.
What costs will I be expected to pay?

You will need to pay the valuation fee upfront and an administration
fee will be collected on completion by our solicitors.
You will also be responsible for your solicitor’s costs and any costs
associated with your mortgage lender.
Get in touch
If you’re thinking about buying more shares

in your property, then get in touch with our
staircasing team.
T: +44 (0)20 8315 5393

E: [email protected]
Minicom: We welcome calls from

the text relay service: add 18001
before any of our phone numbers.
Glossary
Affordability We, alongside independent mortgage advisors, carry out checks to ensure that
the staircasing process and changes in your mortgage payments are affordable
for you and will not leave you with any financial risks.
Completion This is the point at which all transactions concerning your share purchase
are concluded.
Lease A legal document by which the freehold (or leasehold) owner (Clarion)
lets the premises or a part of it to another party (you) for a specified length
of time; after the expiry of which ownership may revert to the freeholder
or superior leaseholder.
Leaseholder When you purchased your property through shared ownership you became
a leaseholder; with Clarion owning the freehold or head lease.
Maximum income Maximum income thresholds apply for Shared Ownership, which vary dependent
by location and are set by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
This is a maximum level of income that your household (classified as people
contributing to the mortgage payments) can earn per year before you become
illegible. These thresholds are set to ensure that the home goes to those
households who would otherwise not be able to afford to purchase a property.
Mortgage An amount of money advanced by a lender such as a bank or building society
on the security of a property and repayable over a long period.
RICS independent An independent party who offers surveying services to determine the current
surveyor market value of your property.
Service charge The cost of repairing and maintaining external or internal communal parts of
a building charged to a Shared Ownership leaseholder. We also include buildings
insurance and management charge.
Solicitor A legal expert handling all documentation for the sale or purchase of a property.
Staircasing Buying more shares of your Shared Ownership home is known as ‘staircasing’.
Clarion Housing Group Limited is a charitable registered society (Reg No 28038R). Registered with the Regulator
for Social Housing (Reg No LH4087) VAT No (675 646 394). Registered office: Level 6, 6 More London Place,
Tooley Street, London SE1 2DA

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STAIRCASING

shares of your Shared Ownership

Find out more about the process

3 Before you start

Any additional shares you purchase are based on the current

Once you staircase to 100% ownership you will no longer pay

Some properties limit the maximum equity you can purchase

As a shared owner, you are entitled to buy more shares

Before you make the decision to buy more shares,

Step 1 — Staircasing Instruction Form

This gives us all the details we need to start the

If the property is owned in joint names,

A valuation of your property will be required.

Step 2 — Valuing your property

The survey will determine the price of

Please note that property market

When the valuation is received

Step 3 — Making you the offer

Once we have received the valuation report,

We will also confirm any fees due to

Step 4 — Buying more shares

Please note that this transaction must be

How is the purchase price calculated?

House prices can go down as well as up so this house price

What happens to my rent?

Service charges, ground rent and other fees may continue

What is the minimum I can buy?

There may be a limit on how many times you can staircase

What costs will I be expected to pay?

If you’re thinking about buying more shares

T: +44 (0)20 8315 5393

Minicom: We welcome calls from

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