 What is the Shared Ownership Nominations Scheme?
The shared ownership nominations scheme (SONS) is sometimes called New Build Homebuy. The scheme helps you to buy a property from a local housing association on a shared ownership basis. This allows you to part buy and part rent a property.
What types of properties are available?
Private developments of more than 10 properties generally include a proportion of affordable units. The majority of shared ownership properties are specially built new properties, with occasional re-sell properties becoming available. Most of the properties are 1 and 2 bedroom flats, very occasionally houses may become available. You can generally buy between 25% and 75% of the property depending on what you can afford. Rent is then paid on the remaining share. If the property is a flat then a service charge may also be payable.
Off street parking is not always available with the property and residents permits are not available to people living in newly built properties, even those situated in controlled parking zones. Please check for clarification with the housing association before buying a property if parking is included.
Some of the local housing associations have special websites for their programmes in Wandsworth.
View a list of the properties available in Wandsworth.
Who qualifies
To be able to purchase under this scheme you must be a first time buyer living in Wandsworth or a keyworker who works in Wandsworth. The definition of a keyworker used by Wandsworth Council for SONS is the same as that used by the CLG - please see the keyworker page for details.
You will also need to meet the minimum income requirements for the property being sold however there are also maximum income limits for joining this scheme.
Maximum income limit is £60,000 – this does not affect resales or non grant funded developments.
If you are unsure whether you qualify for these schemes please contact us on 020 8871 6016.
Please Note:
The housing associations have variable income thresholds for each property; and although we may have nominated you, based on the financial information you gave us in your application form, the housing association will carry out an additional financial assessment prior to offering you a property. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that you are able to meet the financial commitments of purchasing a property.
The housing association would also expect you to have some savings for you to be able to pay the costs associated with buying, such as legal and valuation fees, stamp duty etc.
Priority on SONS
Listed below is a table which identifies how we prioritise on SONS.
| Category of applicants |
| Priority 1 |
Wandsworth Council tenants with a recognised medical need or living in overcrowded conditions and having a minimum of 150 points in the transfer queue, or are decants, essential repair cases, tenants under occupying and homeless persons. |
| Priority 2 |
All other Wandsworth Council tenants and tenants of Housing Associations currently occupying property within the Borough. |
| Priority 3 |
First-time buyers who currently live within the Borough. Applicants in this category must pass a financial appraisal. |
| Note: If more than one applicant from the same priority group applies for a property the applicant with the earliest registration date under the scheme will take precedence. |
Bedroom entitlement?
Applicants will be allocated a bedroom entitlement based on the number of bedrooms they need to house themselves and those members of their family who would normally be expected to live with them. Applicants will generally only be put forward for those properties that meet their assessed bedroom entitlement.
How does SONS work?
The housing associations will contact us with details of each development or re-sell, as they become available. They will advise us of the type of property available whether it is keyworker or non-keyworker and the minimum household income that is needed to purchase a share. We will then search our records and either provide the housing association with a list of suitable applicants to contact directly, or we will send out details of the property to qualifying applicants who are registered on the scheme. It is therefore important that you advise the team of any changes in your personal or financial circumstances since this may effect the properties you are eligible for.
Re-sell properties are properties that were previously sold by the housing association under the shared ownership scheme. They are occupied by a leaseholder that now wishes to sell. With the re-sell properties the housing associations have a limited time in which to sell the property. Any delays in offering this type of property could result in the property being lost to the system. Therefore, in order to speed up the offering process, we would ask that you obtain a mortgage certificate (which is an agreement in principal to the granting of a mortgage) from your bank or building society. This will also help you to decide which properties you can afford and hence which ones you should put your name forward to for consideration.
You will then be given the opportunity to view the property. Once you have viewed the property, if you are still interested in purchasing you can put your name forward.
The housing association will ask you in for an interview and undertake a financial assessment. You will need to take your mortgage certificate and details of all income and expenditure to the financial assessment and, if the housing association are happy that you can afford to proceed, you will be offered the property. In some cases the housing association might require you to pay a non-refundable deposit at the offer stage. If a deposit is paid this will be deducted from the purchase price on completion.
Please note
Due to the time constraints for selling these properties you must only put your name forward if you fully intend to proceed with the purchase. If you pull out of buying a property, having passed the financial appraisal and accepted an offer, you will lose your deposit and you may be suspended from the scheme for a period of at least 6 months.
If you are interested in applying for SONS, please download and complete the form below.
If you have any difficulties completing the form, please contact us for assistance on 020 8871 6016 or email us at housesales@wandsworth.gov.uk.
Download
 Home ownership - application form (464 kb)
Home ownership - joint applicants form (432 kb)
Return your completed form to:
Home Ownership Team
Room 44
Town Hall
Wandsworth High Street
SW18 2PU
Telephone (020) 8871 6016
Minicom (020) 8871 6079
Contact details for Housing Associations
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