Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the regulatory and charitable framework governing housing associations that operate shared ownership schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The majority of Shared Ownership providers are registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. This means that they are required to meet the applicable regulatory standards. These include standards relating to governance and financial viability, alongside relevant consumer standards, including those relating to transparency, influence, and accountability.
Where they are registered charities, not for profit registered providers are also required to adhere to charity law principles, to ensure that their purpose serves the public interest.
As part of the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme, we are placing new expectations on providers to improve the experience of shared owners. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability, increasing transparency and fairness on costs, and giving customers the ability to opt out of fees for services that are optional.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Right to Shared Ownership has been disapplied to rented homes funded by the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Right to Shared Ownership, uptake of which has been very low, has been removed as a contractual condition of funding from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026-36 to protect much needed social and affordable housing stock and to increase certainty for social landlords in respect of long-term rental income.
At their discretion, landlords will still be able to offer tenants the opportunity to purchase their home via Shared Ownership.
This change does not impact tenants already living in homes funded by the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, who will still be able to access the Right to Shared Ownership in their current properties.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent, and (c) shared ownership homes have been provided through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme since its inception.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened.
On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of mechanisms for homeowners to seek recourse when land held by the Duchy of Cornwall reverts to Duchy ownership following the insolvency of housing developers.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Homeowners will have such rights of recourse against insolvent corporate developers as exist under the corporate insolvency regime. The Duchy’s policy is to give an appropriate person or body the opportunity to purchase the property formerly owned by insolvent housing developers. Interested parties may also have the right to apply to Court for a vesting order under a variety of routes (the Trustee Act, Law of Property Act or Companies Act for example).
For communal or shared land, the Duchy co-operates to see the land is disposed of to interested parties directly or via a vesting order.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the average age in which people in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency are able to purchase their first home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme and the Lifetime ISA.
The government has also introduced a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, available to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products for prospective buyers.
Additionally, the Bank of England is easing the loan-to-income limit, enabling up to 36,000 additional first-time buyers in the first year.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ongoing review of the mortgage market means many buyers can now borrow 10% more towards a property purchase. The government looks forward to ambitious proposals from the FCA’s paper.
First-time buyers may also benefit from home ownership initiatives offered at the local level.
Asked by: Andrew Lewin (Labour - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the average deposit paid by (a) all first time buyers and (b) first time buyers using shared ownership schemes in 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
According to the English Housing Survey, the average (mean) deposit of a first-time buyer in 2023-24 was £55,372 (£32,700 median). Further information can be found in the English Housing Survey statistical publication on gov.uk here.
In 2023-24, the mean cash deposit paid by first time buyers in England using shared ownership schemes sold through via private registered providers was £20,300 and the median cash deposit was £12,900. Figures for all shared ownership schemes sold through via private registered providers is available in Live Table 697.
Asked by: Andrew Lewin (Labour - Welwyn Hatfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many first time buyers there were in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025; and what proportion of those bought through shared ownership schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not collect data on the number of first-time buyers.
The Office for National Statistics publishes data on first-time buyer mortgage sales by local authority in the UK. They can be found on its website here. Data covers the period between 2006 and 2024. Data for 2025 has not yet been published.
While it is not possible to provide information on the overall proportion of first time buyers that bought through shared ownership, my Department collects data on shared ownership sales by private registered providers of Social Housing, including whether these were to first time buyers.
This data is used to produce an estimate of the proportion of shared ownership sales by private registered providers that are to first time buyers. These estimates are published for 2022-23 and 2023-24 as part of the Social Housing Sales and Demolitions statistical release. The 2024-25 publication has been pre-announced for publication in January/February 2026. My department only collects similar data from local authorities on a voluntary basis.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Shared Ownership scheme in helping young people into long-term home ownership.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, including through the shared ownership scheme.
Shared Ownership has already helped thousands of people take their first step on to the housing ladder. It plays a vital role in offering a route into home ownership to those who would otherwise struggle to buy a home.
The evidence suggests that shared ownership effectively support younger home buyers. In 2023–24, 65% of purchasers were aged under 40, including 32% under 30, based on CORE data which can be found on gov.uk here and in Live Table 695 on gov.uk here. It should be noted that this reflects only recorded transactions by Registered Providers and does not capture all shared ownership sales.
The government is considering what more can be done to improve the experience of shared owners.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many First Homes properties have been built; and how many are due to be built by 2030.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Up to March 2024, 395 First Homes have been delivered through Section 106 developer contributions, and a further 1,275 through the Early Delivery Programme. This totals 1,670 First Homes altogether. These figures are published in the Live tables on affordable housing supply (Table 1011) which can be found on gov.uk here.
Local authorities are not required to report First Homes delivery separately, so these figures represent the most current data available. Since the removal of the national minimum delivery requirement, local authorities now have discretion over whether to deliver First Homes, and if so, how many. This flexibility allows them to prioritise housing tenures that better meet local needs, such as Social Rent, Affordable Rent and Shared Ownership.
As a result, my Department does not hold data on future delivery and cannot provide an estimate of how many First Homes will be built by 2030. Delivery decisions rest with individual local authorities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in Essex who have a shared ownership property which are subject to ground rent escalator clauses.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to UIN 74455 on 15 September 2025.