The Government launched a new model of shared ownership in 2021.

“NM SO” as it is known, applies to all shared ownership homes built under the 21-26 Affordable Homes Programme.

Copies of the model lease can be found here.

What are the key differences between the current or old model and the new model of Shared Ownership?

Product	Lease Term	First Tranche % sale	Staircasing	Repairs
Old Model	Min 99 years	25-75%	10% tranches	Leaseholder has full repairing obligations
New Model	Min 990 years	10-75%	1% tranches for first 15 years of ownership	Leaseholder able to claim up to £500 per year for the first 10 years

Repairs

The new model lease allows leaseholders to claim up to £500 per year towards ‘essential repairs’.

Essential repairs include:

1. the load bearing framework of the building.
2. the external fabric of the building.
3. all other structural parts of the building, the roof, foundations, joists, and external walls of the building; and/or
4. the service media and machinery and plant within (but not exclusively serving) the premises and all parts of the building which are not the responsibility of the leaseholder under the lease or of any other leaseholder under a similar lease of other premises in the building.

For more information on this, visit our specialist page.

Your £500 repairs allowance

Your property comes with a £500 repairs allowance per year, for the first 10 years.

This is not intended to cover all costs or improvements that you will face as a homeowner. However, it is limited to the costs of keeping in repair and proper working order, the fixtures, and fittings that:

• Supply water, gas or electricity – for example sinks, baths or pipes.
• Heat your home, for example a boiler or radiator.
• Support the structure of the building e.g., windows, doors or walls.
• Any administration fee or insurance excess in respect of a warranty may be claimed.

It does not include:

• Installing other fixtures (such as kitchen cabinets) and fittings.
• Installing appliances that use your gas, electricity or water supplies, such as ovens or washing machines.
• Works cannot be claimed in respect of any work that is covered under a warranty, insurance policy or guarantee.

How do I make a claim?

If you discover a repair that’s needed in your new home, you’ll need to arrange for it to be fixed and claim the cost, up to the value of £500 for each year of the first ten years of ownership, back from us.

You must use a Trustmark-approved tradesperson. You first need to fill in a claim form which can be found here:  Riverside Home Ownership repairs claim form – Riverside

Depending on your claim, we may send a surveyor to inspect the works required.

If your claim is approved, we will arrange for the cost of the repair to be reimbursed to you once the work is complete.

If you break the terms of your lease, we have the right to refuse to pay for the repair. For example, if you cause damage on purpose or do not keep up with routine servicing and maintenance, such as regular boiler servicing. 

Unspent allowance

You can carry any unspent allowance (up to £500) into the following year but cannot roll it over again. The maximum allowance in any one year will be £1,000. Please see the table below for an example of how this work:

	Repairs allowance.	Allowance claimed for repairs.	Amount rolled over to next year.
Year 1	£500	£0	£500
Year 2	£1000 (£500+£500)	£750	£250
Year 3	£750 (£500+£250)	£0	£500

 

We will send an annual repairs allowance statement, so you can keep track of your remaining allowance.

Please be aware that if you sell your home within the first ten years, the remaining balance will transfer to the new shared owner of the property.

Will homeowners under the old lease benefit from this?

No, nothing changes for these customers.