Structural warranties for shared ownership homes
Shared owners normally buy their share with a mortgage, so the warranty on a shared ownership home has to satisfy their lender - at the first sale, when they staircase and when the home is sold on.
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- Rent, shared ownership and sale
Why the lender matters
A shared ownership warranty has to work for the buyer's mortgage
Shared ownership buyers normally need a mortgage for the share they buy. Each mortgage lender sets its own rules on which warranty providers it accepts on new homes, and a home covered by a provider the lender does not accept can hold up a sale or stop it altogether.
Before you commit, we check the warranty provider is likely to be acceptable to the lenders shared owners commonly use, so problems are far less likely to reach your sales team or your buyers' conveyancers - though each lender makes the final decision.
- A final certificate for every shared ownership home, ready at handover
- 12 years of cover from completion
- Cover that normally stays with the home for the rest of the policy period, subject to the policy wording
Through the life of the home
First sale, staircasing and resale
First sale
Each shared ownership home needs its final certificate ready for the buyer's conveyancer and lender when the sale completes. Missing certificates delay completions, so it pays to track them plot by plot.
Staircasing
When a shared owner buys more shares they often borrow more or remortgage. The lender may look at the warranty again, particularly in the early years, so the certificate needs to be easy to find.
Resale
Most warranties stay with the home for the rest of the policy period, so the next buyer, and their lender, benefits from whatever time is left. The policy wording sets out exactly how that works.
Mixed tenure
Shared ownership alongside homes for rent and sale
Shared ownership homes often sit on the same site as homes for social rent and outright sale, sometimes in the same block. One warranty provider for the whole site is usually simplest, as long as it is acceptable to the lenders every buyer will use.
If tenures change during the build - homes switched from rent to shared ownership, for example - tell the warranty provider. Homes that were going to be let may now need to satisfy a buyer's lender, and it is far easier to deal with that before completion than at the point of sale.
Shared ownership warranties - common questions
Why does the lender care which warranty provider is used?
A lender lending on a new home wants to know that serious defects will be put right. Each lender sets its own rules on which warranty providers it accepts, and many will not lend on a new home without cover from one of them or, in some cases, a professional consultant's certificate.
Who holds the warranty - the shared owner or the housing provider?
The warranty relates to the home rather than to one person. Who can make a claim, and when, is set out in the policy wording, and in shared ownership the lease also says who is responsible for which repairs.
What happens to the warranty when a shared owner staircases to 100%?
The unexpired cover normally continues with the home, subject to the policy wording. The owner may need the certificate if they remortgage or sell, so it should be kept with the property documents.
Does the warranty replace the landlord's initial repair period?
No. Some shared ownership leases granted since 2021 include an initial repair period, usually the first 10 years, when the landlord pays for some essential repairs while the owner has less than a 100% share. That sits alongside the structural warranty rather than replacing it. The lease and the key information document set out who is responsible for which repairs.
Can shared ownership homes get retrospective cover?
Sometimes. If homes were started or finished without a warranty, some providers may consider retrospective cover with enough evidence. It costs more and is not always available - see Retrospective Warranties.
Tell us about your shared ownership homes
Tell us about the site and the tenure mix, and we will come back with providers likely to suit both you and your buyers' lenders.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your completed proposal
- Schemes anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
