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This guide has not been checked against its sources
We re-checked our most-read guides against GOV.UK and the other official sources in September 2026. This one was not among them, so nobody has confirmed its figures, deadlines or process steps since it was written. Treat it as a starting point and confirm anything that matters on GOV.UK before you act on it.
Shared ownership is a government-backed scheme that allows buyers to purchase a percentage of a property and pay rent on the remainder. When the shared owner dies, their leasehold share passes through the estate — but the process is more involved than inheriting a standard freehold or leasehold property, because the landlord retains significant rights. This page describes the scheme as it operates in England; GOV.UK notes that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules.
Under shared ownership, the buyer purchases a share of a property and pays rent to the landlord on the share the landlord still owns. GOV.UK says the share bought is "between 10% and 75% of the home's full market value", and that it is usually between 25% and 75%, with a 10% share available on some homes. Buyers can "staircase" (purchase additional shares) over time, paying less rent as they do.
The buyer holds the property on a long leasehold basis, with the landlord — usually a housing association — retaining the superior interest. This means the estate owns a leasehold interest, not a freehold.
On the death of a shared owner, the estate inherits the leasehold share that was purchased. For example, if the deceased owned a 50% share of a property valued at £300,000, the estate inherits a leasehold interest with a probate value of approximately £150,000 — subject to the lease terms and any outstanding mortgage.
The estate does not inherit the full property. The housing association continues to hold the unsold equity, and rent on that equity does not transfer to a new owner without a new lease arrangement.
For the full probate process, see our complete UK probate guide 2026.
Shared ownership leases give the landlord a "nomination period" on a sale. GOV.UK puts it as follows: the landlord has a period of time — 4, 8 or 12 weeks, depending on the lease — to find a buyer, and if the landlord does not find one within that period the share can be sold on the open market. The sale price is based on a valuation by a surveyor registered with RICS. Homes England's Capital Funding Guide records that homes funded under the 2021 to 2026 Affordable Homes Programme gave the shared owner the option to end the nomination period at four weeks, where the previous programme had eight. The lease itself is what governs, so read it rather than assuming.
This applies to sales by the estate as well as voluntary sales by living owners. The executor must follow the procedure set out in the lease, which typically involves:
A beneficiary can inherit and continue to live in a shared ownership property, but they will need to:
If the beneficiary does not meet the eligibility criteria, they will not be permitted to keep the property. The estate will need to sell instead.
Service charges and rent on the unsold equity do not pause on the death of the shared owner. The estate is responsible for these costs from the date of death until the property is transferred or sold. Executors should:
Arrears can accrue quickly. Housing associations can seek possession for rent arrears in the same way as any landlord, so prompt action is important.
Lease lengths vary with the age of the scheme: older shared ownership leases were commonly granted for 99 or 125 years, while Homes England's Capital Funding Guide required new build shared ownership homes under the 2021 model to be issued with a minimum lease term of 990 years. If the lease was granted many years ago, the remaining term may be short. GOV.UK says that when there are 80 years or less remaining on a lease, the cost of extending it increases significantly.
Checking the remaining lease term is worth doing early. Where it is at or approaching 80 years, whether to extend before selling becomes a live question for the estate. For more on this, see our guide to leasehold property and lease extension during probate.
For IHT purposes, the value of the shared ownership share is the estate's interest in the property — i.e., the percentage owned multiplied by the open market value of the whole property. Any outstanding mortgage on the share is a deductible liability.
The main residence nil rate band (RNRB) may be available if the property is being left to a direct descendant — but it only applies up to the value of the share actually owned, not the full property value. Read more in our inheritance tax UK 2026–27 guide.
Use our estate administration checklist, applying for probate guide, and executor first steps guide for the broader process. For the first steps after a death, see what to do when someone dies. For selling the property, see our selling a probate property guide. For the IHT400, see our IHT400 guide. For CGT on inherited property, see our CGT on inherited assets guide.
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