Is Co-Ownership only for first-time buyers?

Co-Ownership is not only for first-time buyers. The scheme's own guidance says many of its customers are first-time buyers, but it also helps people returning to home ownership after a change in circumstances and people over the age of 55 who want to move to a home that suits them better¹. What the scheme does require is that you do not own property or land at the time you apply, unless you are applying through Co-Own for Over 55s and your existing home is being sold².

That distinction matters because it is the one people get wrong. Someone who sold up years ago, or who is starting again after a relationship ended, is not shut out. Someone who still owns a flat, or a piece of land, is, unless the over-55s route applies to them.

The other rules are about credit, who you apply with, and what you can buy. Co-Ownership says you cannot have adverse credit at the time of making a Co-Own application, and it uses Experian to review your credit history and carry out a full credit assessment². If you are married, in a civil partnership, engaged, living together or planning to live together in your new home, you must apply together³. And the property itself has to fall within the scheme's value limits: £215,000 for existing properties and £230,000 for new builds⁴.

Co-Ownership is not only for first-time buyers, but you must not own property now

The eligibility rule is about what you own today, not what you have owned in the past. Co-Ownership's key requirements are not currently owning any property or land, living in your new home as your only residence, and having no outstanding adverse credit such as county court judgements or defaults². Its application guidance repeats the same three points: no property or land, no outstanding adverse credit, and the property as your only residence⁷.

That is a different test from the one used for first-time buyer property tax reliefs, which look at whether you have ever owned a home. In Scotland, for example, a first-time buyer means a person who does not own nor has previously owned a dwelling in Scotland, the rest of the UK or the rest of the world, including gifted or inherited dwellings¹⁰. Co-Ownership does not apply that test. A previous owner who has since sold is not excluded by it.

There is one wrinkle worth knowing about, because it affects what you can do later. The Financial Ombudsman Service has published a case study about a Lifetime ISA customer who bought an initial share in a property through a shared ownership arrangement. The ombudsman's case study notes that buying an initial share gives a legal interest in the property, meaning the buyer would not in future meet the definition of a first-time buyer¹¹. If you have a Lifetime ISA and are weighing up a shared ownership purchase, that is the kind of detail to check before you commit, because it can affect a future bonus claim.

Co-Own for Over 55s: applying while selling your current home

Co-Own for Over 55s is the route that lets existing owners in. It is designed for people aged 55 and over, using savings or the equity from selling their current home to buy their share¹². You buy a share of your new home, between 50% and 90%, using savings or equity from your current home when you sell it¹³.

The condition is that the property you already own has to be on its way out of your hands. Co-Ownership's application guidance states that for Co-Own for Over 55s, the existing property must be in the process of being sold⁷. Its help centre puts it more fully: for Co-Own for Over 55s, an application can be made if you own a property and are selling it to fund your share of your new Co-Ownership home⁶.

One practical point that catches people out: the legal package that comes with the scheme does not cover the sale of any property you currently own, and Co-Ownership flags that this is only relevant to those applying for Co-Own for Over 55s¹⁴. In other words, you are running two transactions, and only one of them is inside the scheme's legal work.

Other UK schemes handle this differently, which is useful context if you are comparing. Under the Older Persons Shared Ownership scheme in England, you must have formally accepted an offer for the sale of your current home, called sold subject to contract, with written confirmation of the sale agreed, and the sale must complete on or before completion of the shared ownership purchase¹⁵. The First Homes Fund in Scotland requires that if one of you currently owns a property, you must have sold it before your purchase completes¹⁶.

Other eligibility rules: credit history, payday loans and joint applications

Co-Ownership states plainly that you cannot have adverse credit at the time of making a Co-Own application³. It uses Experian to review your credit history and carry out a full credit assessment². The common reasons it gives for declined applications are issues with your credit history, affordability concerns based on your income and outgoings, problems with the property valuation, or not meeting the lender's specific criteria¹⁷.

On payday loans specifically, the scheme does not publish a rule naming them. What it publishes is the adverse credit rule and the fact that affordability is assessed on income and outgoings. Whether a particular loan shows up as a problem depends on your own credit file and how the lender reads it, so the honest answer is that it can, and the way to find out is to check your Experian file before applying rather than after paying the fee.

Joint applications are not optional in the circumstances people often assume they are. Co-Ownership says that if you are married, in a civil partnership, engaged, living together or planning to live together in your new home, you must apply together³. Its application guidance adds that both applicants must meet the eligibility criteria, that combined household income and outgoings are assessed, and that both are equally responsible for the mortgage, if there is one, and the rent payments⁷.

That last point is the one to sit with. Applying jointly means both incomes count towards affordability, which can help, and both names sit on the obligations, which does not go away if one person's circumstances change.

Property limits: up to £230,000 for new builds, £215,000 for existing homes

The scheme caps what you can buy, and the cap depends on whether the home is a new build or an existing property. Co-Ownership's property criteria state a maximum property value of £215,000 for existing properties and £230,000 for new build properties⁴. The scheme's own announcement of the change says its maximum property limit increased to £230,000 on new build homes¹⁸.

There is a further layer for approvals that sit between the two figures. For approvals between £215,001 and £230,000, the choice is an existing property up to £215,000 or a new build property up to the property value shown on your Approval⁵. For approvals supporting up to £215,000, a single property value is offered that applies to both existing properties and new builds⁵. Co-Ownership also states a second property value limit of £230,000 for new build properties⁵.

For comparison, other UK schemes set their caps differently. The First Homes Fund in Scotland offers up to £10,000 towards the cost of a property worth up to £300,000¹⁹. The First Homes scheme in England applies to new build properties valued at up to £250,000, or £450,000 in London, and the official guidance states that new build First Homes cannot cost more than £250,000, or more than £420,000 in London, after the discount has been applied¹⁶. The Help to Buy equity loan in England applied to new build homes with a maximum value of £600,000²¹.

Applying and getting approved: documents, fee and timescales

Co-Ownership recommends applying to Co-Ownership and getting approved first, before you go looking at houses²². That ordering matters, because the approval is what tells you what you can spend, and it does not last indefinitely.

The approval is valid for four months for Co-Own applicants². The scheme's property assessment guidance repeats that your Co-Ownership approval remains valid for four months if you applied for Co-Own⁹. If you have not found and completed on a property in that window, the approval lapses.

On documents, the scheme asks for the last three months' payslips for all employment if you are employed²³. There is a separate page covering what proof of income you need to provide, which is worth reading alongside the application process itself⁷.

The costs come in stages. Co-Ownership lists application fees, property assessment fees and legal fees as part of the process⁸. The application fee is £100 and it is non-refundable: the scheme states that if you apply and do not meet its criteria, the £100 application fee will not be refunded, and the same applies if problems are discovered after applying and paying the fee⁷. Its fees page lists the application fee as non-refundable²⁴.

Beyond the application fee, there are the usual costs of buying. Co-Ownership sets out that you confirm borrowing with a lender, instruct a solicitor, pay for a survey if the lender requires one, plus application fees, property assessment fees and legal fees⁸.

Where Co-Ownership sits among the UK schemes

Co-Ownership is the Northern Ireland scheme. The official Northern Ireland guidance describes it as helping people who cannot afford to buy a home outright²⁵. It is not available outside Northern Ireland, and approvals do not transfer.

The rest of the UK runs separate schemes with separate rules, which is why the eligibility question has a different answer depending on where you are. Scotland has the First Homes Fund, which offers up to £10,000 towards a property worth up to £300,000, and the official guidance directs first-time buyers to read the First Homes Fund guidance for buyers for eligibility information and step-by-step instructions on how to apply¹⁹. England has the First Homes scheme, where new build First Homes cannot cost more than £250,000, or more than £420,000 in London, after the discount¹⁰. Wales has its own arrangements.

If you are trying to work out which scheme applies to you, the starting point is where the property is, not where you currently live. A scheme's rules follow the nation the home sits in.

What protects you, and where it stops

The scheme's own rules are the first protection: the eligibility criteria, the property value limits and the requirement that the home is your only residence are all set out before you apply, and the approval process tests them². The application fee is non-refundable, so the protection is in checking before you pay, not after⁷.

If something goes wrong with a financial firm involved in the process, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about firms it covers. Its published case studies show the kind of issue that can arise around shared ownership and first-time buyer products: in one, a customer bought an initial share in a property, which the ombudsman's case study notes gives a legal interest in the property and would mean the buyer would not in future meet the definition of a first-time buyer¹¹. That is a reminder that the long-term consequences of how you buy can outlast the purchase itself.

For free, impartial help with the wider questions, Citizens Advice covers buying a home and the steps involved²⁶. If you are comparing Co-Ownership with a standard mortgage, or with shared ownership as it works in England, the differences in how the share is bought and what you pay rent on are worth understanding before you decide which route fits your circumstances.