Purchasing more shares or remortgaging

Purchasing more shares (staircasing)

You can increase the ownership of your home at any time by purchasing additional shares – depending on your lease, the minimum share you can purchase is either 5% or 10%.

The share you purchase will be based on the current market value of your home, which is determined by an independent RICS qualified surveyor. For more details about the surveyors on our panel, please download this PDF.

If your shared ownership lease was issued as part of the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26, it may be possible to purchase just a 1% share.

With each share that you purchase, your rent reduces and when you reach 100% ownership, you no longer pay us rent, although you’re still liable for service charges and ground rent (if applicable). Your lease contains information that explains how to increase your ownership. Your rent account must be up to date and you’ll be asked to provide details of any home improvements you’ve carried out. Before you apply to staircase, it’s wise to speak to your mortgage lender or an independent financial adviser to ensure you’ll be able to get a larger mortgage. You also need to take into account the costs of legal fees and any additional mortgage fees you’ll incur in the purchase.

Our Homeowner's Handbook gives further information about purchasing further shares, including the option for some shared owners to purchase just a 1% share, so it’s important that you read the information before applying. Before you submit your application, you must ensure you have registered all improvements you have made with us, and obtained a valuation report. Once you're ready to apply, please log in to your MyMoat account, to access the application. If you don't have a MyMoat account, it's easy to set one up; simply visit moat.co.uk/mymoat and click on ‘sign up’. Enter your email address, surname, date of birth and set up a password. You'll be emailed a verification link which you'll need to click to activate your account and you’re ready to go.

Please note that the information you enter to set up your MyMoat account must match the details we have for you on our system.

Remortgaging

If your mortgage rate is coming to an end, or you’re considering purchasing more shares in your home, you’ll need to contact your mortgage advisor or lender to arrange a new deal.

We suggest that you allow at least three months for this process. If you’re changing lender or borrowing more money, the mortgage lender will require Moat to issue them with the mortgagee protection clause (MPC). This is our guarantee to the lender that should anything happen, the mortgage lender will receive monies as a first priority.

Additional borrowing on your mortgage can also be used for essential repairs that aren’t covered by buildings insurance or to allow one leaseholder to buy another leaseholder’s interest in the same property. Borrowing more money for other reasons is possible, but this would not benefit from the mortgagee protection clause and would therefore be at the discretion of your lender.