Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the equitability of the shared ownership rent formulae.

Shared ownership rents are set through lease agreements between shared owners and their landlords and are typically subsidised. Providers are generally encouraged to set initial rents at no more than 2.75% of the value of the unacquired share.

For new shared ownership leases issued from October 2023, annual rent increases are capped at a maximum of Consumer Prices Index plus 1%, bringing shared ownership rent increases into line with the limit that normally applies to annual rent increases in other forms of social housing.

Older leases generally permit increases of up to Retail Prices Index plus 0.5%, reflecting the terms agreed when those leases were entered into.