What is staircasing?
Staircasing is the process of buying more shares in your home. There are no fixed timescales, so you can increase your share as and when your finances allow.
Check your affordability with Stairpay
We’re partnered with Stairpay to make it easier for you to buy more shares in your home. Their handy online staircasing calculator can help you see how much more of your home you could afford to buy, and how your rent might change when you buy more shares.
First, let's find your account (to get your 'Unique customer ID', click here):
Types of staircasing
There are two main forms of staircasing:
1. Interim staircasing – Buy a little bit more at a time
You can buy additional shares in your home in stages, in minimum 10% increments*. The amount you pay us in rent will go down as the amount of the property you own goes up.
2. Final staircasing – Buy all the remaining shares in your home
You can buy the remaining shares in your home and reach 100% ownership, either in one payment or after several interim transactions. When you have bought all the shares in your home, you’ll own your home outright and will no longer be a shared owner, and will no longer need to pay rent to SNG^.
*Unless specified differently in your lease
^Service charges and ground rent may still apply
Find out more
- Keen to find out how much it might cost? Try Stairpay's handy online staircasing calculator here
- Ready to apply? Complete our online application form via Stairpay here
- Have questions? Contact the team: staircasing@sng.org.uk or 0300 330 0718
Live in London or Hertfordshire? For more information and to apply, please contact staircasing@networkhomes.org.uk or call 0204 512 5640 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).
FAQs
We are dedicated to making this process as easy as possible for you – and in most cases, there are no restrictions on buying more shares in your home. However, a small number of leases have staircasing restrictions in place which means you’ll only be able to staircase up to 80% in your home. We’ll check this for you when you submit your application, or you can check your lease before you apply.
As a guide, we suggest that the transaction to buy more shares in your home should complete within 3 months.
You and your solicitor should work towards this time frame, and by providing all the relevant information required you can help the process run smoothly.
We are committed to creating affordable homes for our customers – and so it’s important that you carefully consider all the costs involved in buying more shares in your home before you decide to apply.
Each time you purchase additional shares, you’ll have expenses to pay such as legal fees, mortgage fees, and our administration charge for handling your application. We recommend that you seek advice from your mortgage lender or an independent financial adviser. More information on staircasing fees can be found here.
Yes, it’s important that all property transactions are handled professionally by a solicitor. If you need help finding a solicitor to act on your behalf, please let us know. Once you’ve instructed a solicitor to work with you, you’ll need to give us their details.
We’ll also instruct solicitors to act on our behalf, who will pass on all relevant information to your solicitors as soon as we receive your completed Authority to Proceed form.
Your solicitor and ours will then work together to agree a completion date – usually within three months of your application. You should keep in close contact with your solicitor for regular updates – it’s best that you work with them, rather than contacting us directly.