Combine Shared Ownership and Help to Buy

The government should allow home buyers to use the Help to Buy scheme to make shared ownership purchases, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has said. In its submission to the government’s spending review, the Institute said the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme should be used for low cost home ownership to help people on low incomes access the housing ladder. Currently, the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which allows people to buy homes with 5% deposits, cannot be used to purchase shared ownership products. The CIH said the mortgage guarantee scheme should be extended beyond December 2016, but should be used solely to help buyers purchase low cost ownership homes, including shared ownership. Read more on the CIH website.