Fifth Report - Shared Ownership

The government rejects changing shared ownership lease terms for existing homes to ensure proportionate service charges, citing potential disruption and their focus on current legislative priorities. They will not consider major changes to the Affordable Homes Programme before its conclusion in April 2026.

The government dismisses the urgent assessment of Rent to Buy vs. shared ownership, stating their similarity under AHP and inappropriateness for private schemes. While it has adjusted data collection for staircasing and will review publishing it, it rejects using this data to directly inform the proportion of homes in the next Affordable Homes Programme.

The government agrees on the importance of specialist advice, noting existing information documents and ongoing work. However, it rejects the recommendation for Homes England to mandate specialist teams via the Capital Funding Guide, stating it's not something they expect to enforce, and notes existing sector-led forums for best practice sharing.

The government rejects the recommendation to include satisfaction with repairs and maintenance for shared owners in the next round of TSMs, stating shared owners are responsible for internal repairs and changes cannot be made for the current collection year. It defers potential future changes to a comprehensive review at an appropriate point.

The government rejects mandating providers to buy back shares from shared owners, stating it would lead to unintended consequences and is a commercial decision for providers. Instead, it encourages voluntary buyback and transparency about existing buyback policies.