Shared Ownership Schemes
Communities and Local Government
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations his Department has received from housing associations on provision of credit to those seeking to purchase property under shared ownership schemes from lenders (a) wholly in the private sector and (b) wholly or partly publicly-owned; and what information his Department holds on the level of cash deposits requested by lenders granting mortgages for those participating in shared ownership schemes.
Grant Shapps (Minister of State (Housing and Local Government), Communities and Local Government; Welwyn Hatfield, Conservative)
My Department is not aware of any recent representations from housing associations of the kind described.
Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of mortgages and loans, including loan-to-value ratios, remain commercial decisions for the boards of the individual banks and building societies.
There are currently over 20 lenders, both wholly in the private sector or partly publicly-owned, supporting shared ownership. The current average level of cash deposit requested by lenders is generally 10% of the share being purchased.