Staircasing is how shared ownership buyers increase the share of their home they own over time, potentially up to full ownership. This guide explains staircasing: what it is, how it works, the costs, reaching 100%, how it reduces your rent, and the things to consider before buying more of your home.
What staircasing is
Staircasing is the process of buying additional shares in a shared ownership home, increasing the proportion you own and reducing the share you rent, as our guide to shared ownership explains. You might start owning, say, 40% and staircase up over time. It lets you build your ownership gradually as your finances allow, which is one of the appeals of shared ownership compared with renting indefinitely.
How it works
To staircase, you buy a further share at its current market value, so the home is valued at the time, and you pay for the extra share, often funded by savings or by increasing your mortgage. You can usually staircase in stages, buying more shares when you can afford to. Each staircasing transaction has its own process, including a valuation, so it is a deliberate step rather than something that happens automatically.
The costs involved
Staircasing has costs: a valuation fee, legal fees, possibly a mortgage arrangement fee if you borrow more, and sometimes other charges. Because you buy the extra share at the current market value, if your home has risen in value, the additional share costs more than when you first bought. Budgeting for these costs, and the higher price if values have risen, is important when planning to staircase.
Reaching 100%
Many people staircase with the goal of reaching 100%, owning their home outright. On a house, owning 100% usually means you own it fully and stop paying rent, sometimes acquiring the freehold. On a flat, you typically still hold a lease even at 100%, with service charges continuing. Reaching full ownership ends the rent on the landlord's share, which is a major financial benefit of staircasing all the way.
How it reduces your rent
As you staircase and own more of your home, you pay rent on a smaller remaining share, so your rent falls with each step, as our guide to shared ownership versus buying explains. By the time you own 100%, you pay no rent at all. This reduction in rent is a key benefit of staircasing, gradually shifting your housing cost from rent towards mortgage and full ownership.
Funding staircasing
You can fund staircasing from savings, by remortgaging to borrow more, or a combination, as our guide to remortgaging explains. Increasing your mortgage to staircase raises your borrowing and payments, so it must be affordable. Some people staircase when they remortgage anyway, or as their income grows. Planning how you will fund each step, and ensuring it is affordable, is central to staircasing successfully towards greater or full ownership.
Things to consider
Before staircasing, consider whether buying more is the best use of your money, the costs involved, whether values have risen (making shares dearer), and the rules of your specific scheme, as some limit how and when you can staircase. Weighing the benefit of lower rent and greater ownership against the costs and your other priorities helps you decide whether, and when, staircasing is worthwhile for you.
Mini-staircasing
Some shared ownership schemes allow what is sometimes called mini-staircasing, buying small additional shares, even as little as 1% at a time, more frequently. Where available, this lets you increase your ownership in smaller, more affordable steps rather than large chunks. The rules vary by scheme and provider, so it is worth checking whether your home allows smaller staircasing steps, as this can make building ownership more manageable over time.
An example of staircasing
Suppose you own a 25% share of a home now valued at £240,000, and you staircase to 50%. The extra 25% share would cost £60,000 at the current value, funded by savings or a larger mortgage, plus valuation and legal fees. Your rent then falls because you rent a smaller share. This shows how staircasing increases your ownership and cuts your rent, at the cost of buying the extra share at today's value.
Staircasing and your mortgage
If you fund staircasing by borrowing more, you increase your mortgage, which the lender must approve and which raises your payments, as our guide to borrowing more relates. So staircasing by remortgaging is subject to affordability, and the higher mortgage offsets some of the rent saving. Planning how the larger mortgage fits your budget, and that the lender will lend the extra, is part of staircasing this way.
When staircasing makes sense
Staircasing tends to make sense when you can afford to increase your ownership, want to reduce your rent, and especially if you aim to reach 100% and own outright. It makes less sense if values have risen sharply (making shares dear), if you might move soon, or if your money is better used elsewhere. Weighing the benefit of more ownership and less rent against the costs guides the timing.
Selling versus staircasing
Instead of staircasing, some shared owners choose to sell and buy a different home outright when their finances allow, rather than buying more of their current one. Which is better depends on whether you want to stay in your home and own more of it, or move on entirely. Considering staircasing alongside the alternative of selling and moving helps you choose the path that best fits your longer-term housing plans.
Plan each step carefully
Because each staircasing step involves a valuation, legal work and possibly a larger mortgage, it pays to plan each one carefully, timing it for when you can afford it and ideally when values are favourable, as our guide to shared ownership versus buying relates. Treating staircasing as a series of deliberate, costed steps, rather than a vague intention, helps you build ownership efficiently and avoid paying more in fees than necessary.
The long-term goal
For many shared owners, the long-term goal is to staircase to 100% and own their home outright, ending the rent and holding the full property (or, on a flat, the lease). Keeping this goal in view, and staircasing as your finances allow, turns shared ownership from a part-purchase into a path to full ownership. Whether you reach 100% or simply increase your share, staircasing lets you build towards owning more of your home.
Approached step by step as your finances allow, staircasing turns the modest start of a shared ownership share into a growing stake in your home, and for many it is the mechanism that eventually delivers full, outright ownership.
In short
Staircasing is buying further shares in a shared ownership home to increase the proportion you own and reduce your rent, potentially reaching 100% and full ownership. You buy extra shares at current market value, with valuation and legal costs, funded by savings or a larger mortgage. Each step lowers your rent. On flats, a lease and service charges usually continue even at 100%. Consider the costs and your scheme's rules before staircasing.
Where to get help and next steps
Read our guides to shared ownership explained, shared ownership versus buying, and remortgaging. This is general information, not mortgage or financial advice; scheme rules change, so check current details.