Buying a home with shared ownership or shared equity

Affordable homeownership schemes can help you buy a home if you have a low or moderate income.

There are 2 schemes:

• shared ownership means you buy a share of a housing association home

• shared equity means the Scottish Government loans you part of the cost to buy a home

There may be a waiting list for the schemes in your area.

Shared ownership

Shared ownership schemes are usually run by housing associations.

You can buy a 25%, 50% or 75% share of a home. The housing association will own the rest of the property.

You'll have 2 payments to make each month:

• a mortgage payment for the share that you own

• a monthly occupancy charge – this is like a reduced rent that you pay to the housing association for living in the part that they own

After you've been living there for a year, you can buy a larger share of your home if you want to.

You’ll get an occupancy agreement that outlines your rights and responsibilities. Check our advice on your rights in a shared ownership home.

Finding a shared ownership home

Search online for schemes in your area.

You can also contact the council’s housing team and ask if they have a list of shared ownership housing providers. Find your council on mygov.scot.

If you find a scheme you’re interested in, check the housing association’s website or contact them to check if you're eligible and how to apply.

Shared equity

With shared equity, you usually need to buy at least a 60% share of the home. The Scottish Government loans you the rest of the money through a shared equity agreement.

The property will be fully in your name. If you ever sell the home, the government will get a share of the money from the sale.

You do not have to pay any occupancy charges to the government.

There are 2 shared equity schemes: the New Supply scheme and the Open Market scheme.

New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE)

With the NSSE scheme, you buy a share of a new build home from a council or housing association.

Check if you're eligible for the NSSE scheme on mygov.scot.

Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE)

With the OMSE scheme, you can look for an existing home on the market that you want to buy a share in.

Check if you're eligible for the OMSE scheme on mygov.scot.

If you want to increase your share

After you’ve moved in, you can choose to increase your share by at least 5% each year. You can usually do this up to 100%, so that if you sell your home, you will not owe anything to the government.

In some cases, there’s a limit on how much of your home you can buy. The government might keep up to 20%. Check your shared equity agreement or ask your solicitor.

Before applying to a scheme

Speak to an independent mortgage adviser to work out how much you can afford to borrow.

You’ll also need a solicitor to do the legal work.

Check our advice on the process of buying a home.