Improving customer experiences of shared ownership to drive change in the housing market
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In 2022, high interest rates, a lack of affordable housing and the cost of living crisis meant home ownership was becoming increasingly out of reach for many people.
Shared ownership is a government backed scheme that lets people buy a share of a home and pay rent on the rest, and there was growing interest in expanding this market to increase access to home ownership.
However, rising complaints from existing shared owners about lack of transparency, unexpected costs and difficulties in progressing to full ownership, indicated there were systemic issues that needed to be addressed if the potential of shared ownership was to be realised.
Understanding what change could look like
Lloyds Banking Group and other housing sector organisations wanted to test appetite for an industry-led initiative to improve consumer experiences of shared ownership and, in turn, widen access to home ownership. Social Finance was commissioned to explore what this initiative could look like and support its design and delivery.
Peter Williams, an Honorary Departmental Fellow at the University of Cambridge and a leading housing policy expert, convened and chaired an expert group for a 12 month period to steer the work and help build consensus for action. Social Finance provided a research team and secretariat support.
Building momentum for change
The cross-industry consensus we helped build led to the creation of the Shared Ownership Council — a time-limited initiative incubated by Social Finance, supported by 34 industry funders, and independently chaired by Ann Santry CBE, a widely respected figure in the housing sector.
Ann’s visible leadership was critical to the Council’s success. Her convening power and persistence helped drive progress and maintain momentum, while the deep operational expertise of senior housing consultant Bernie Conroy gave stakeholders confidence in the process.
Through the Council’s work, industry experts and Social Finance jointly drafted a Shared Ownership Code, which was first published for consultation in June 2024.
What Social Finance brought, which was invaluable, was independence of thought and challenge. […] If it had just been people who knew about shared ownership, we’d have chosen the lowest common denominator every time. And this raised it up, having Social Finance objectivity and intellectual rigour.
Ann Santry CBE, Independent Chair of the Shared Ownership Council
Testing and learning
Social Finance ran a consumer survey of 1,707 current and prospective shared owners and an industry consultation with 50 organisations. This evidence on the shared owner experience was used to refine and strengthen the draft Code.
The Council then piloted the Code with eight housing providers to check it was practical and straightforward to put into practice before an industry-wide launch.
One of the real positives of the pilot was that some elements of the code genuinely challenged shared ownership providers and prompted them to question existing practices.
We listened to that feedback and refined the code where needed, while still keeping the consumer at the heart of the offer. This showed clearly that the pilot had a real influence on shaping the Code, ensuring it is both practical for providers and meaningful for shared owners.
Bernie Conroy, Senior Housing Consultant & Shared Ownership Expert
Action for change – The Shared Ownership Code
In June 2025 the Shared Ownership Council, with continued support from Social Finance, published the Shared Ownership Code.
The Code is a voluntary set of standards that housing providers sign up to so they can offer clearer information, greater transparency and better service to shared owners and buyers. It is designed to improve experiences across the whole shared ownership journey, from first enquiry to staircasing, resale and complaints.
At its heart are seven principles:
- clarity of information,
- cost transparency,
- parity of treatment with other new homeowners,
- fair and clear staircasing and resale processes,
- better handling of unplanned costs and service charges, and
- appropriate support for vulnerable customers.
Providers that adopt the Code commit to updating policies and processes, training staff, and evidencing that they meet these standards, including cooperating with monitoring arrangements.
For consumers, this should mean clearer up front information, more predictable and explained costs, more consistent staircasing and resale processes, and stronger protection if things go wrong.
Scaling and sustainabilty
In October 2025 the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) was selected to be the Code Operator. Social Finance and the Shared Ownership Council officially handed the Code over to them in December 2025 to enable adoption at scale.
NHQB plans to evolve the Code in the future based on further reviews and consultation. In February 2026 they appointed Natasha Greenwood as their new Director of Shared Ownership to lead NHQB’s strategy to support registered providers in adopting and meeting the Code’s requirements.
System change in action
The Shared Ownership Code’s journey is an example of what system change looks like when it is in progress: convening, co-designing, testing and learning and handing things safely on once they’re ready to grow on their own.
By end of January 2026, 9 housing providers* had already signed up to the Code, and there is consensus across the industry that it will improve the consumer experience of shared ownership, in turn, increasing take-up, and widening access to home ownership.
However for Social Finance, making shared ownership a fairer, more transparent and therefore more viable tenure option for customers is the first step towards delivering Social Finance’s broader vision for the sector –that everyone has access to safe and secure housing.