Quick answer
On our UK defaults, a 40% share of a £290,000 home costs about £1,395 a month, including a £150 service charge. That's close to £1,360 to rent, but it needs only about £14,500 upfront. After 10 years the shared owner is roughly £63,000 better off than the renter. That edge depends on prices rising, service charges staying moderate and being able to sell when you want to.
Is shared ownership better than renting?
Often, yes, on the numbers. On our UK defaults, a 40% share of a £290,000 home costs about the same each month as renting it, needs only about £14,500 upfront, and leaves you roughly £63,000 better off after 10 years. But shared ownership comes with costs and restrictions that renting doesn’t have: you pay 100% of repairs, service charges can rise, you hold a lease rather than a freehold, and selling can be slower. This shared ownership calculator shows the financial case. The rest of this page covers the parts a calculator can’t.
Shared ownership is a UK scheme in which you buy a share of a home, usually from a housing association, and pay rent to the landlord on the rest. You buy between 10% and 75% of the full market value, and the deposit is usually 5% to 10% of the share you’re buying.
How to use the shared ownership calculator
- Enter the full market value of the home, not the price of your share.
- Choose your share. It can be between 10% and 75%. New leases allow shares as low as 10%.
- Set the rent on the unowned share. The default is 2.75% a year. GOV.UK allows up to 3% for new-build homes, and a resale home keeps the rent the previous owner paid.
- Add the service charge from the home’s key information document to the HOA / service charge input. This calculator preloads £150 a month, which we use in the example below; replace it with the real figure.
- Enter a comparable rent for renting a similar home outright.
The calculator puts a mortgage on your share only. Rent on the landlord’s share rises each year in line with rent growth. You pay 100% of maintenance and service charges, worked out on the whole home’s value. When you sell, you receive your share of the home’s value minus your mortgage and selling costs.
Worked example: 25% vs 40% share vs renting vs buying outright
The example uses the UK defaults: a £290,000 home, a 4.3% mortgage over 25 years, a 10% deposit on the share, 2.5% buying costs on the share, 3% annual price growth, 4% annual rent growth, and comparable rent of £1,350 a month. We’ve added a £150 monthly service charge to every ownership option.
| First month | Rent | 25% share | 40% share | Buy 100% (10% deposit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cash | £0 | ~£9,060 | ~£14,500 | ~£36,250 |
| Mortgage | — | ~£355 | ~£569 | ~£1,421 |
| Rent (market or on the unowned share) | £1,350 | ~£498 | ~£399 | — |
| Maintenance + insurance | — | ~£278 | ~£278 | ~£278 |
| Service charge | — | £150 | £150 | £150 |
| Contents insurance | £10 | — | — | — |
| Monthly total | ~£1,360 | ~£1,282 | ~£1,395 | ~£1,849 |
How the 40% figures are worked out. Your share is £116,000. A 10% deposit is £11,600, which leaves a £104,400 mortgage. At 4.3% over 25 years, the repayment formula gives about £569 a month. The landlord’s 60% is worth £174,000, and 2.75% of that is £4,785 a year, or £399 a month.
After 10 years, with the renter investing whatever cash they don’t spend on housing:
| Option | Net worth after 10 years | Versus renting |
|---|---|---|
| 25% share | ~£75,000 | ~£59,000 ahead |
| 40% share | ~£90,000 | ~£63,000 ahead |
| Buy 100% | ~£194,000 | ~£78,000 ahead |
Shared ownership wins here because it gets you exposure to house prices with very little cash. Only £14,500 is tied up, so the renter’s investment advantage is small. Meanwhile your 40% share grows with the whole market. With a £290,000 home growing at 3% a year, your share rises from £116,000 to about £156,000.
When does renting beat shared ownership?
The case for shared ownership is sensitive to a few inputs. Here are single changes to the 40% example, measured over 10 years:
| Change | Shared owner’s lead over renting |
|---|---|
| Example as above | ~£63,000 |
| Price growth 1% a year | ~£40,000 |
| Service charge £250 a month | ~£44,000 |
| Comparable rent £1,100 instead of £1,350 | ~£15,000 |
| 5-year horizon | ~£22,000 |
| Investment return 8% | ~£58,000 |
Shared ownership is still ahead in every one of these model runs. But the margin narrows fast when comparable rents are cheap or service charges are high. Remember too that the model doesn’t include:
- Rising service charges and major works bills. These are set by the landlord or managing agent and are hard to forecast. Ask for the past five years of charges.
- Staircasing costs. Each step involves a valuation, legal fees and admin fees.
- Resale friction. A 4 to 12 week nomination period, a smaller pool of eligible buyers, and lenders that may be less keen on low-share resales.
- Lease issues. You’re a leaseholder. Check the length of the lease and any restrictions on subletting or alterations.
- Mortgage choice. Fewer lenders offer shared ownership mortgages, so compare rates with a broker.
If you think it’s likely you’ll need to sell quickly, put more weight on these risks than on the calculator’s 10-year number.
Shared ownership rules in 2026: what to check
The points below are from GOV.UK’s shared ownership guidance, checked in November 2026.
- Eligibility. Household income must be £80,000 or less outside London, or £90,000 or less in London. You must be unable to afford a suitable home outright and fit one of the listed buyer types, such as a first-time buyer or a former owner. Some homes also require a local connection.
- Share size. You can buy 10% to 75% at the start. The usual range is 25% to 75%.
- Rent. For new-build homes, rent is capped at 3% of the landlord’s share a year, and most landlords charge 2.75%. For leases from 12 October 2023, the lease sets the annual increase at either RPI plus up to 0.5% or CPI plus 1%. Rent can go up at review but never down.
- Staircasing. Most leases allow purchases of 10% or more. Some newer leases allow 5%. If you bought on or after 1 April 2021, you can usually buy 1% a year for the first 15 years at an HPI-based price. You can usually reach 100%, but the cap is 80% in designated protected areas.
- Repairs. You pay for repairs whatever share you own. Some newer leases have a 10-year initial repair period, during which the landlord covers essential external and structural repairs, plus a repairs allowance that is usually £500 a year.
- Selling. The landlord has a 4, 8 or 12 week nomination period before you can sell on the open market, unless you own 100%.
Stamp Duty works differently for shared ownership. You can make a market value election, which means paying once on the full market value and nothing more as you staircase. Or you can pay in stages, with nothing more due until your share goes above 80%. First-time buyer relief may apply to your first share. See HMRC’s guidance on SDLT for shared ownership and ask your conveyancer which option suits you.
Rent to Buy vs shared ownership
| Rent to Buy | Shared ownership | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A tenancy at about 20% below market rent | Part-ownership of the home |
| Typical length | Up to 2 years at first | Indefinite, with staircasing optional |
| Upfront cash | Usual tenancy deposit | 5–10% of your share, plus legal costs |
| Repairs | Landlord | You pay 100% |
| Exposure to house prices | None | On your share |
| Where | England outside London | England (other UK nations run their own schemes) |
If you need time to build savings, Rent to Buy is lower risk. If you have a small deposit and plan to stay at least five years, shared ownership usually builds more wealth, as long as the service charge and resale terms are acceptable. Use the rent to buy calculator to model the discounted-rent route.
Shared ownership vs renting: decision checklist
- Have you read the key information document and the lease, including rent review terms and lease length?
- Have you seen five years of service charges and any planned major works?
- Have you compared the total monthly cost with comparable rent, as the calculator does?
- Have you run a 5-year horizon and 1% price growth in the calculator?
- Could you afford unexpected repairs at 100% of the cost?
- Do you know how a future buyer would qualify, and what fees you’d pay to sell?
Related tools and reading
- Shared ownership vs renting: a longer guide with case studies.
- United Kingdom rent vs buy calculator: compare against buying the whole home.
- Rent vs buy in the UK: Stamp Duty, leaseholds and mortgage fixes explained.
- Hidden costs of owning a home: repairs and charges to budget for.
This calculator is a guide, not financial advice. Speak to a mortgage adviser and a solicitor before you buy a shared ownership home.
Frequently asked questions
How is rent calculated in shared ownership?
You pay rent on the share you don't own. GOV.UK says that for new-build homes the rent can be up to 3% of the value of the landlord's share a year, and most landlords charge 2.75%. On a £290,000 home where you own 40%, the landlord's 60% is worth £174,000, so rent at 2.75% is about £4,785 a year, or £399 a month.
Who can apply for shared ownership?
In England your household income must be £80,000 or less, or £90,000 or less in London. You must be unable to afford all of the deposit and mortgage for a suitable home. You also need to be a first-time buyer, a former owner who can't afford to buy now, someone forming a new household, an existing shared owner moving home, or an owner who can't afford a suitable new home.
Can I buy more of my shared ownership home?
Yes, this is called staircasing. Most leases let you buy 10% or more at a time, priced at current market value after a RICS valuation. If you bought on or after 1 April 2021, you may also be able to buy 1% a year for the first 15 years, priced using the House Price Index. Landlords may charge about £150 to £500 in admin fees for each purchase of 5% or more.
Do shared owners pay for all repairs?
Generally, yes. GOV.UK says you pay for repairs and maintenance whatever share you own. Some leases from 2021 onwards include an initial repair period, usually 10 years, during which the landlord covers essential external and structural repairs. There's also a repairs allowance, usually £500 a year, for some heating, water, gas and electrical fixtures.
Is it hard to sell a shared ownership home?
It can be slower than an ordinary sale. If you own less than 100%, you must tell your landlord, who gets a nomination period of 4, 8 or 12 weeks depending on your lease to find a buyer at a RICS-valued price. Only after that can you sell on the open market. Your buyer usually has to meet the shared ownership eligibility rules too.
Rent to Buy vs shared ownership: which is better?
They do different jobs. Rent to Buy lowers your rent to about 20% below market for up to two years while you save. Shared ownership gets you on the ladder now with a small deposit on part of the home. Some Rent to Buy landlords let tenants move into shared ownership on the same property, so you might use both in turn.
Does the calculator include staircasing?
No. It assumes you keep the same share for the whole horizon and sell at the end. To model staircasing, run the calculator at your starting share and again at your target share, and compare the monthly cost and net worth of each.