--- title: What is Co-Ownership? date: 2025-11-17T11:13:00+00:00 author: Clinton canonical_url: "https://co-ownership.org/understanding-co-ownership/what-is-co-ownership" section: Getting started --- **Understanding Co-Ownership**# What is Co-Ownership? We help you buy the home that’s right for you by sharing the cost. You buy the part you can afford, and we buy the rest. - [Check your Eligibility](https://co-ownership.org/tools-calculators/eligibility-checker) ![Sideboard with 3 things 1140x1140px](https://co-ownership.s3-assets.com/1140x1140px/_1140x1140_crop_center-center_none/sideboard-with-3-things-1140x1140px.png) ## In this section - [What is Co-Ownership?](https://co-ownership.org/understanding-co-ownership/what-is-co-ownership) - [Who is Co-Ownership for?](https://co-ownership.org/understanding-co-ownership/who-is-co-ownership-for) - [Step-by-step process](https://co-ownership.org/understanding-co-ownership/step-by-step-process) - [Our products](https://co-ownership.org/understanding-co-ownership/our-products) - [Eligibility checker](https://co-ownership.org/tools-calculators/eligibility-checker) - [Tools & calculators](https://co-ownership.org/tools-calculators) **Buying a home in Northern Ireland can feel challenging, especially if the full purchase price or deposit is out of reach. Co-Ownership offers an affordable home ownership solution through shared ownership, helping you move into a home sooner without needing to buy it all at once.** With Co-Ownership, you purchase the share of the property you can afford. We purchase the remainder. You pay a mortgage on your share and a modest rent on ours. This reduces the upfront cost of buying and keeps monthly payments manageable. Over time, if your circumstances change, you can increase your share, even up to full ownership if that’s your goal. There’s no pressure and no fixed timeline. You move at a pace that works for you. ## Who we are Co-Ownership is Northern Ireland’s shared ownership provider and a not-for-profit organisation regulated and part-funded by the Department for Communities. Since 1978, we’ve helped more than 35,000 households across Northern Ireland step onto the housing ladder. As a not-for-profit organisation, our focus is simple: making home ownership more achievable. We reinvest money we receive to help more local people buy a home. Flexibility is one of the main benefits of Co‑Ownership. It’s designed as a stepping stone to full home ownership, at a pace that works for you. 1. You choose a property within your approved price range. 2. You buy a percentage share that suits your budget (between 50% and 90%). 3. Co-Ownership buys the remaining share. 4. You pay a mortgage on your share and rent on ours. 5. If you decide to buy more of your home in the future, you can do so in steps or buy us out completely. ### Co-Own This is our main product and suits most applicants. Through Co-Own you buy a share of a home between 50% and 90% and we buy the remaining share. This reduces your upfront costs (such as the amount of a deposit required), helps lower your mortgage and gives you flexibility for the future. Co-Own may be a good option if you can't save a deposit within a reasonable time or can't afford a full mortgage. You can start at a level that’s affordable now, and buy more of your home in the future. Co-Own is designed for: - first-time buyers - people re-entering the housing market - anyone who can afford to buy part of a home but not the full price ### Co-Own for Over 55s Designed for people aged 55 and over who want to move to a home that better suits their needs as they get older but can't afford to on their own. There's no mortgage involved - you buy a share of your new home (between 50% and 90%) using savings or equity from your current home when you sell it. We buy the rest and you pay us a small monthly rent on the share we own. This might suit those: - wanting to be nearer friends and family - needing a home that is easier and cheaper to heat and maintain - responding to health or mobility issues - who have a lump sum that could be put towards a property - coming to the end of an interest-only mortgage, without enough equity left when they sell their home to buy another by themselves Co-Own for Over 55s helps bridge the gap between the home you have now and the home you want next. [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/co-ownership.org) ### Renting Value **£170,000** Mortgage **£0** Deposit **£943** Total Monthly Rent **£943** ### Co-Own For Sale **£170,000** Mortgage on 50% share **£85,000** Deposit **£0** Total Monthly Mortgage £566 + Rent £177 **£743** ### Buying For Sale **£170,000** Mortgage **£161,500** Deposit **£8,500** Total Monthly Mortgage **£1074** > "From beginning to end, my experience was outstanding. If I had questions, help was just a phone call away. They exceeded my expectations, and I'm grateful to Co-Ownership for turning my dream home into a reality."