Fees, costs & rent
Plan ahead for the costs involved in buying your home through Co-Ownership.
Buying through Co-Ownership involves a few straightforward costs. Some are one-off fees that help us process your application and assess your chosen property. Others, like rent, and mortgage payments (if you're using Co-Own) are ongoing monthly costs.
This page breaks down what you'll pay and when, so you can budget with confidence.
Fees costs and rent video
Wondering what you'll pay and when? This short video breaks down the fees involved in applying and buying through Co-Ownership, explains how our monthly rent is calculated, and puts your costs into context so you know exactly what to expect at every stage.
Our fees
| Fee type | Amount | Payable | Refundable? | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application Fee | £100 | When you apply | Non-refundable | A check of your income, outgoings and credit history |
| Property Assessment Fee | £120 | When you upload your property details | Yes - if the property assessment has not been instructed | A RICS-registered surveyor's assessment of your home |
| Legal Fee | £480 | After successful property assessment | Partially - if a solicitor is instructed but your case does not complete, we pay the solicitor fees and refund you the rest | Your share of the solicitor's professional fees for the purchase, and any mortgage related legal work |
Application Fee
When you apply to Co-Ownership, you'll pay an Application Fee of £100. This covers the cost of processing your application, reviewing your financial circumstances, and determining whether Co-Ownership is the right option for you.
This fee is non-refundable, even if your application is unsuccessful or you decide not to proceed.
Property Assessment Fee
Once you've found a home you'd like to buy, you'll pay a Property Assessment Fee of £120. This covers a review of the property by a RICS-certified surveyor approved by Co-Ownership. They check that the home meets the required standard, is suitable for Co-Ownership, and represents value for money. They'll also identify any potential issues, helping both you and Co-Ownership make an informed decision before proceeding.
Legal Fee
A Legal Fee of £480 contributes towards a legal package, which covers a nominated solicitor's professional time spent on your case and the paperwork required to complete your Co-Ownership purchase.
If you're applying for Co-Own for Over 55s and selling an existing property, please note that this legal package only covers the purchase of your new home, not the sale of your current one. The same solicitor can be used for both, but you’ll need to arrange and pay for this separately.
Once you pay your legal fee, we will issue your Co-Ownership Acceptance. If you are getting a mortgage to support your purchase, this document will need to be provided to your lender.
Additional costs
There are other costs involved in buying a home, which are separate from Co-Ownership's fees. You're responsible for paying any applicable:
- Registration fees
- Stamp duty land tax
- Any fees relating to your mortgage
- Legal fees for selling your current home, if you're applying for Co-Own for Over 55s
- Management company or service charges
Your solicitor will provide a written statement detailing these costs before completion, so you'll know exactly what to expect.
Rent
Co-Ownership rent is set at 2.5% per year of the value of our share of your home. This is £25 for every £1,000 we own. This applies to both Co-Own and Co-Own for Over 55s customers.
Here's how rent works in practice:
- Rent starts on the day you get the keys and continues until you sell the home or buy out our share.
- Rent is looked at once a year and will go up with living costs (inflation). We'll tell you about any change before it happens, and the new amount usually happens from 1 April.
- Rent is paid monthly, in advance, by Direct Debit. If your property has ground rent due, this is included in your monthly payment to Co-Ownership, and we pay it to the leaseholder for you.
- We use Experian's Rental Exchange to improve your credit report by showing the rent payments you have made. However, missed or late payments will negatively impact your credit report, so it's important to keep up to date.
How much rent will you pay?
This table shows examples of how much monthly rent you could expect to pay depending on the price of the property and the share you buy.
The more of your home you own, the less rent you'll pay.
| Your share | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property value | 50% | 55% | 60% | 65% | 70% | 75% | 80% | 85% | 90% |
| £100,000 | £104.17 | £93.75 | £83.33 | £72.92 | £62.50 | £52.08 | £41.67 | £31.25 | £20.83 |
| £120,000 | £125.00 | £112.50 | £100.00 | £87.50 | £75.00 | £62.50 | £50.00 | £37.50 | £25.00 |
| £130,000 | £135.42 | £121.88 | £108.33 | £94.79 | £81.25 | £67.71 | £54.17 | £40.63 | £27.08 |
| £135,000 | £140.63 | £126.56 | £112.50 | £98.44 | £84.38 | £70.31 | £56.25 | £42.19 | £28.13 |
| £150,000 | £156.25 | £140.63 | £125.00 | £109.38 | £93.75 | £78.13 | £62.50 | £46.88 | £31.25 |
| £160,000 | £166.67 | £150.00 | £133.33 | £116.67 | £100.00 | £83.33 | £66.67 | £50.00 | £33.33 |
| £165,000 | £171.88 | £154.69 | £137.50 | £120.31 | £103.13 | £85.94 | £68.75 | £51.56 | £34.38 |
| £185,000 | £192.71 | £173.44 | £154.17 | £134.90 | £115.63 | £96.35 | £77.08 | £57.81 | £38.54 |
| £190,000 | £197.92 | £178.13 | £158.33 | £138.54 | £118.75 | £98.96 | £79.17 | £59.38 | £39.58 |
| £200,000 | £208.33 | £187.50 | £166.67 | £145.83 | £125.00 | £104.17 | £83.33 | £62.50 | £41.67 |
| £210,000 | £218.75 | £196.88 | £175.00 | £153.13 | £131.25 | £109.38 | £87.50 | £65.63 | £43.75 |
| £215,000 | £223.96 | £210.56 | £179.17 | £156.77 | £134.38 | £111.98 | £89.58 | £67.19 | £44.79 |
Rent increases
We review rent annually to keep pace with inflation and ensure we can continue supporting more people into home ownership. We tell our co-owners what their new rent amount will be in February each year, ahead of it taking effect on 1 April.
For full details on how we set and review rent, see our Rent Policy.
Can you afford Co-Ownership?
Before you apply, it's worth taking time to understand what you can realistically afford, not just now, but over the long term. Our affordability calculator helps you work out what share you might be able to buy, what your monthly costs could look like, and whether Co-Ownership is the right option for your circumstances. It takes a few minutes and gives you a clearer picture before you take the next step.
Check your affordability
Our application process
We've designed our application process to be as simple as possible. Discover what happens from the moment you submit your application through to receiving your approval. Learn what documents to gather, how we assess your circumstances, and how to give your application the best chance of success.
Find out moreHave a question?
If you've a query about our fees, want to know more about the costs involved in Co-Ownership, or have a question regarding our rent, get in touch with the team and we'll be happy to help.
