CIH calls for government review of shared ownership

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has urged the government to carry out a review of shared ownership in England to ensure the tenure remains affordable beyond the point of entry.

In its latest report exploring the role of shared ownership in the affordable housing space, the body laid out six recommendations for Whitehall, providers and regulators as its findings suggested a “significant proportion of shared owners show signs of financial instability”.

The research also noted the satisfaction of those in shared ownership units often declines the longer someone lives in the home, particularly for people living in flats, who reported experiencing similar pressures to leaseholders.

Megan Hinch, co-author of the report and CIH policy manager, said: “Our research shows that affordability can’t just be considered once, at the point someone buys their home. Government, providers and lenders need to work together to build a tenure that is transparent and sustainable across its whole lifecycle. That means better data, clearer information for shared owners, and a proper, evidence-based review of how the model is working in practice.”

She also encouraged providers to sign up to the new shared ownership code, operated by the New Homes Quality Board since last October.

The CIH welcomed recent government reforms, including 1% staircasing, a 10-year repair warranty and the standardisation of lease terms to 990 years, but warned that these changes only apply to new shared ownership homes, with an estimated 200,000 existing shared owners left uncovered.

Its report also recognised that housing associations and local authorities, who deliver most shared ownership dwellings, are “navigating increased challenges themselves, including fluctuating interest rates, growing regulatory scrutiny and stricter lending rules”.

Meanwhile, registered charity Shared Ownership Resources has published a report calling for a “clear, fair and mandatory framework” for buyback, where a housing provider purchases a shared owner’s home back from them.

Funded by a grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s social housing innovation fund, the report was produced via a partnership with Places for People’s charity – the Places Foundation – to explore barriers to buyback from the perspective of shared owners as well as providers.

In July 2026, life peer George Young proposed an amendment to the Social Housing Bill requiring a comprehensive review of shared ownership, which was carried by 232 votes to 146. In his foreword to Shared Ownership Resources’ report, Young said it makes “a compelling case for buyback to act as a meaningful and accessible exit route for shared owners whose housing needs are no longer met by their home and for whom, in some cases, shared ownership has had adverse consequences”.