Selling your Shared Ownership Home
You may sell your shared ownership property at any time at its current market value.
Your first step should always be to tell Hexagon that you plan to sell. We will send you our pack entitled ‘Information Guide on Selling Your Home’, which includes an application form and details of the process involved.
You have two choices when selling. You can sell the part of the home that you own to someone nominated by Hexagon, or you can buy the remaining share, and then sell the property outright.
Check Your Lease
The rules on selling are set out in the Shared Ownership Lease you signed when you bought your home. Leases can vary, but normally they give a ‘nomination period’ to enable us to find a new buyer for your share of the home. If we cannot find you a buyer within this time, you can then sell your home on the open market.
If you own your home outright you can also sell it on the open market. However, Hexagon has the right to buy the property back at the current market value at any time the home comes back onto the market in the 21 years after it has gone into 100% ownership. This is in order to keep a good stock of affordable housing available for local people.
You should talk to Hexagon or your legal advisor about these and any other clauses in your lease that affect the sales process.
Section 20 Procedure
Under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (amended by section 151 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002), we must consult you about the work or services we provide in certain circumstances. You can find a copy of the Section 20 Procedure here.
Right to Manage
If you’re a leaseholder, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gives you the right to take over the management of your property. This is known as the Right to Manage, and is done by leaseholders setting up a Right to Manage (RTM) company.
The RTM company can manage the building directly, or pay a managing agent to do it. The Leasehold Advisory Service (also known as LEASE) has published guidance on how to set up an RTM company. You can download the guidance from the Leasehold Advisory Service website.
If you want to set up an RTM company, you don’t need to prove any mismanagement by Hexagon, or get a court order. However, there are some criteria which the RTM company and the building you wish to manage must meet.
To qualify for the Right to Manage:
- The building must be made up of flats (houses don’t qualify)
- At least two-thirds of the flats in the building must be leasehold – with leases that were for more than 21 years when they were granted
- At least 75% of the building must be residential – for example, if there’s a shop in the building, it can’t take up more than 25% of the total floor area
- The number of members the RTM company has must be equal to at least half the total number of flats in the building.
