Two Housebuilders Partner To Launch New Shared Ownership Scheme

Housebuilders Barratt Developments and Legal & General Affordable Homes are together launching Kickstart, a new Shared Ownership scheme designed to help people onto the housing ladder or help them find a home to suit their growing needs.

The Kickstart Shared Ownership scheme will be available to eligible buyers with a maximum household income of £80,000, or £90,000 if in London, and who meet affordability criteria. Eligible buyers can purchase between 10% and 75% of the property and then pay a subsidised rent on the remaining share.

This allows buyers to put down a deposit on the share they are purchasing, rather than on the full market value of the property, which can make the scheme more affordable for those with smaller deposits.

The scheme is being launched on selected developments in the Midlands and the North, West and East regions of the country, before it is rolled out more widely.

Steve Mariner, sales and marketing director at Barratt Developments, said: “We want to help as many people as we can to get onto the housing ladder through innovative new schemes like Kickstart. It is a great new way for people to be able to afford their new home because you start by buying a share of the home rather than the full market value of it. This means your deposit is lower, your mortgage is smaller and you can buy a larger share in the future.”

Ben Denton, chief executive at Legal & General Affordable Homes, said: “We’ve always known that meeting the affordable housing demand in the UK required collaborating with others and growing the sector as a whole – this has been one of our ambitions from day one. Launching Kickstart with Barratt Developments will take the offer of Shared Ownership to more locations, making well built, energy-efficient homes accessible to more people, increasing their options of getting on the property ladder.”