Shared owner information

Shared ownership is where you buy a percentage or share of a brand new property, which means you often don’t need as big of a deposit. You then pay monthly rent on the remaining share that you don’t own. Your mortgage and rent may still be less than if you bought the property outright.

Shared owners have responsibilities like managing utilities and reporting defects, which can help you keep your home in good condition and protect your investment. 

Congratulations on your new home! We’re delighted that you’re joining us as a shared owner. To help you get settled in and set your home up properly, we recommend you do the following early on in your contract.

1. Register your appliances with the manufacturers. This will put your appliance’s warranty in your name instead of ours, which is important for servicing and support later on.
   
   
2. Organise annual servicing for your heating system. This becomes your responsibility once the initial 12-month warranty has expired.
   
   
3. Contact your utility providers to set up your accounts. We’ll let gas, electricity and water providers know you’re moving in, but you should also get in touch with them.
   
   
4. You’ll need to let your local council know you’ve moved in so they can send you your council tax bill. Find your local council.
   
   
5. Make a note or take a photo of your meter readings the day you move in, so you don’t get charged for any use that happened before you moved in. Not sure how to read your meter? Find out how on our meter reading page.
   
   
6. Set up your rent account. If you’ve not set up your account yet, please give us a ring on 0300 790 6555.

As a sharedowner, you’ll need to pay service charges, ground rent, and other fees. You’ll also pay us rent and buildings insurance.

You can find answers to common questions on our paying your rent page, and you can always check your rent account or see how to make a payment online through My Account.

If you own your home outright, you may still have a service charge to pay to us. Find out more about service charges.

The easiest way to pay is by Direct Debit. If you’d like to set one up, just give us a call on 0300 790 6530 and we’ll help you get started. Find out other ways to pay.

If you’re worried about keeping up with your payments, please get in touch with us as soon as you can. We’re here to listen and work with you to find the best way forward.

Learn how to turn off your utilities

If there’s an emergency, knowing where the right switches and valves are to turn off your utilities can save valuable time and help prevent damage to your home.

• Water - The water stop tap is usually located under the kitchen sink or inside a nearby cupboard and should be clearly labelled.
  
  
• Electricity - The consumer unit (fuse box) is typically located in a hallway cupboard. This contains the trip switches and can be used to shut off power if needed.
  
  
• Gas - The stop tap is located inside the external gas meter box, usually on an outside wall near your front door.

Because your home is brand new, over the first year, the water that was absorbed by the plaster and timber during construction will naturally begin to evaporate, which is a process called drying out.

This can also make these materials shrink slightly, so you might spot some small cracks in the plaster or little gaps in the skirting boards. This is normal and won’t affect the structure of your home.

Once the drying process is complete, usually 9 to 12 months later, these little cracks can be filled with decorator’s filler and painted over. However, if you spot any cracks that are wider than 5mm – about the width of a pound coin – we’ll address those during your end of defects inspection. 

You’re welcome to decorate and paint, but we strongly recommend you wait at least 9 to 12 months before doing any major decorating in your home to allow your new home to finish drying out, (a process that happens after building work is completed).

If you decorate too early, you risk sealing in moisture and worsening any shrinkage issues happening as a result of the drying out process.

If you’re planning to make larger changes or alterations to your home, you’ll need to get our permission first by contacting your Leasehold Team. Contact them through My Account.

If you’re planning to use nails or a drill to hang things on your walls, it’s a good idea to check the wall for pipes and wiring with a stud detector so you don’t hit them.

Make sure you also use appropriate fixings for your wall type and the weight of whatever you’re hanging up. For lighter items, steel picture hooks are usually fine, but heavier things will need screws and wall plugs to keep them secure.

It’s normal to have some condensation in your home, particularly on your windows, ceilings or walls, and especially in colder weather or winter time.

However, excessive condensation can be a problem. If it’s not managed, it can lead to mould and other problems in your home.

• Find out more about preventing condensation, damp and mould

If your garden has freshly laid grass, don’t walk on it until it’s been down for three to four weeks. Water it regularly, especially in warmer weather, and try to do so in the early morning or late evening so the water doesn’t evaporate. Once the grass is growing well, you should begin mowing it regularly.

Your new home might have an internal fire door, which is designed to keep smoke and flames contained in one room if there’s a fire. These are heavier than normal doors and might close automatically. You should never remove, disable or prop open a fire door.

All new homes come with smoke alarms already installed. Remember to test your alarm regularly by pushing the test button and make sure it’s working properly.

If you think something’s wrong with your smoke alarm or you notice a fault, get in touch with us immediately so we can get it fixed. You can contact us through My Account or phone us on 0300 790 6555.

If you spot a defect or something that needs repairing within the first 12 months of living in your new home, you should let us know directly (not the builder or the sales advisors). We’ll investigate your report and work with the builder to make sure your issue gets fixed quickly.

For any emergency defects, call us immediately and quote your name and full postal address. For non-urgent defects, these can be discussed and reviewed during your end-of defects inspection.

After you’ve lived in your new home for a year, your 12-month warranty period will end, and we’ll get in touch with you to come visit your home.

This is called an end of defects inspection, and it’s a chance for you to tell us about any issues with your home. We’ll check for defects that fall under your home’s warranty, like structural movement, poor weatherproofing or if your windows and doors aren’t working properly.

Some of these things might be covered under a warranty or extended guarantee so it’s a good idea to check your homeowner pack. If you’re not sure, you can drop us a line through My Account.