Social landlords can now sign up to voluntary code designed to improve customer experience of the product
A new code designed to improve the shared ownership customer experience has launched.
Social landlords can now sign up to the Shared Ownership Code following a pilot with eight landlords.
The voluntary code is intended to cover all organisations that interact with shared owners and has been created to standardise best practice and consumer protection for shared ownership. It aims to ensure transparency, fairness and improved support for shared owners in marketing, purchasing, and management of their homes.
The code has been developed by the Shared Ownership Council, which is backed by 27 housing providers and financial institutions, including Lloyds Bank and Leeds Building Society, alongside housing associations and shared ownership specialists including L&Q, LiveWest, Platform, L&G, Affordable Homes, Heylo and Clarion.
Under the code, providers provide an information document to customers showing a range of scenarios for potential service charge changes and an assessment management plan.
In order to meet the code, providers across England would also follow the Greater London Authority’s Service Charges Charter, which aims to improve the experience of leaseholders with service charges, as well as collaborate with freeholders on affordability. Providers must flag in annual customer updates if final service charges rise significantly above estimates or inflation.
Other key measures include a 14-day cooling-off period that allows customers to cancel their agreement and receive a full refund; fee transparency where providers must publish all costs associated with shared ownership upfront and a defects liability period extension to 24 months.
The standard also asks providers to ensure their staff are adequately trained to offer support and improve CORE data reporting.
The code also guarantees shared owners a minimum 12-month defects period from purchase completion (after an initial transition period),
Ann Santry, chair of the Shared Ownership Council, said: “We feel the code has addressed several of the issues flagged in the government’s Levelling Up report and believe that shared ownership has a key role to play in addressing housing needs.
“We are urging housing providers up and down the country to register to adopt the code so we can improve and future-proof the product for the good of current and future shared owners.”
The eight landlords which piloted the code are Clarion Housing Group, Heylo, Housing 21, L&Q, Livewest, Onward, SNG, and Stonewater.
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