Did you know you can contact the Government directly about shared ownership issues? There's an online form to complete. We’ve shared the link on our WhatsApp channel. Check our pinned post to access it.

Remember when the previous govt capped rent increases for shared owners at 7% as they were set to exceed 13%? Here a Labour minister tells housing associations he won’t do that. Their income streams are protected. You’re not. "Affordable housing," they said.

The shared ownership model means buyers take on the whole loss if a property goes down in value, as well as paying all of the repairs. A new National Audit report has warned that the model, combined with rising service charges, is trapping young people in their properties

We need affordable housing, but shared ownership may not always help people get up the ladder | Georgia Scheerhout

🚨 For shared owners, annual above-inflation rent increases are the norm. Will the Chancellor step in with a one-year rent freeze for them as well? @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social

Our latest update: Remediation Bill, Building Safety Regulator, under-11m buildings, Interim Measures Alarm Fund, and Shared Owners’ Network. Change won’t happen without you. Take action now 👇 endourcladdingscandal.org/posts/act-no...

🚨 UPDATE: Shared owners contacted us this week to say they were not notified about extra requirements that apply only to them. We warned MHCLG. Repeatedly. How many are now at risk of losing key protections under the Renters’ Rights Act?

🚨 Subletting & Renters’ Rights Act We’ve seen housing association letters to shared owners on required action regarding subletting under the Renters’ Rights Act. We’re gathering evidence. If you’ve received a similar letter, please forward it to: ✉️ [email protected]

"Getting mortgages for flats in buildings that need fire safety repairs has been a challenge, while there is understandable reluctance to buy flats where there may be future repair costs. ... Some existing owners have been trapped in unsellable flats for years" ⏳⏳⏳ www.thetimes.com/life-style/p...

More leasehold nightmares: Earl's Court residents challenging drastic hike to insurance costs over flammable cladding www.mylondon.news/news/west-lo...

📈 30 shared owners facing a 21× increase in buildings insurance. Service charges have surged from £205 to £614 a month. And this is what the Government calls "affordable housing."

My housing association still hasn’t implemented changes to the Capital Funding Guide made 2 years ago, but sure, emailing all shared owners before May 1st sounds totally realistic. #UKhousing #SharedOwnership

Did you also cover this last-minute government guidance for shared owners who are accidental landlords? It affects thousands of Londoners caught in the building safety crisis, now at risk of losing protections because their housing provider hasn’t notified them. www.gov.uk/guidance/the...

The Renters Rights Act makes changes to shared ownership. 🆕 @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social has urged registered providers to “take action now”. ⚠️ But will shared owners, especially those who sublet, get the information they need in time?

The Grenfell Inquiry blamed “dishonesty and greed” among developers and installers, as well as “incompetence” by regulatory authorities. Since then, you don’t hear so much from laissez-faire types about “health and safety gone mad.” Except at HM treasury 😬 www.thetimes.com/money/mortga...

📢 Important update for shared owners who are accidental landlords because of the building safety crisis 👇

🆕 Subletting update: New Government guidance has finally been issued on the Renters Rights Act for shared owners who sublet (or plan to). The timing is very last-minute, giving limited time to act and potentially affecting key protections. 🔗 www.gov.uk/guidance/the...

"Even harder than selling a leasehold is trying to sell a flat with potentially combustible cladding. Changes introduced after the Grenfell tragedy have left tens of thousands of owners across Britain stuck in buildings that are considered unsafe." spectator.com/article/flat...

2.5 years since leaseholders fought for a Remediation Order, with a deadline of June 2024, work is yet to start. ⬇️ Unsafe homes, enormous financial harm, lives and life choices completely ruined. Labour still light years away from getting anywhere close to a grip. www.bbc.com/news/article...

106 months on from Grenfell, we are still fighting for truth and justice, as the Hillsborough families had to for decades. Hillsborough Law must be delivered with those families at its heart. Their lived experience is vital to ending coverups and delivering real accountability.

Don't miss important news and updates. Follow our WhatsApp channel 🖇️ whatsapp.com/channel/0029...

We’re trapped in a £275,000 shared ownership home – it’s unsellable inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...

🗨️ "We have had enough of this nightmare" Many shared owners are trapped, unable to sell, facing spiralling costs they can't afford. The Government must act urgently and fund a buyback scheme so shared owners can finally move on with their lives. 🖇️ Link in next post.

"Fire safety issues were identified, including fire alarms not working properly and problems with fire doors. (...) Service charges shot up to reflect the extra costs." inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...

A quick way to increase the number of homes for social rent, buy them.

@matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social's response is clear: ❌ Buybacks are still a lottery ❌ The Labour govt still doesn't have a plan to fix this Thousands remain trapped. We need a statutory right to buybacks for unaffordable & unmortgageable homes. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

Most shared owners trapped in unmortgageable and unaffordable homes are saying the same thing: they need a way out. They want buybacks. Thank you @jessbrownfullermp.bsky.social for asking this question👇 🖇️ Minister response in next post

What is the deal with shared ownership? Marketed as affordable home ownership, critics say the government-backed housing scheme can trap buyers in rising costs. We dug into the details. national.thelead.uk/p/the-lead-u...

⚠️ On a Heat Network? The London Assembly Environment Committee has written to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband over rising costs and future upgrade charges. ❗This isn’t just a London issue. Details & next steps on our WhatsApp channel 👇 whatsapp.com/channel/0029...

Shared owners are paying the price for a crisis they did not create, and for trusting a government-backed scheme that promised an affordable home. This is why we are calling on the Government to fund a national buyback scheme for shared ownership homes. inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...

Total costs for my shared ownership flat are now over 60% of my net income. When MHCLG ministers speak about shared ownership, they say it has 'a role to play'. What role exactly @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social?

Thousands of shared owners are trapped in potentially unsafe blocks, facing escalating costs they cannot afford and unable to sell or even remortgage. They are left in limbo, with little to no meaningful support from their housing associations. inews.co.uk/inews-lifest...

A ‘generation is being trapped’ in shared ownership properties they can’t sell, according to The Telegraph this morning. It’s a story we know all too well here at The Mill. Today, our writer and editor Jack Walton recounts his own shared ownership story... manchestermill.co.uk/help-im-trap...

🗨️ "My net income is about £2,998 a month, and my housing costs are now over 50% of that. It's just not sustainable." "I knew there would be service charges,... but shared ownership was advertised as affordable housing." www.bbc.com/news/article...

The National Audit Office "warned that high service charges coupled with mortgage costs, building safety bills and the cost of rent ... posed long-term “financial risks” which could ultimately affect the buyer’s ability to sell up." #SharedOwnership www.telegraph.co.uk/money/proper...

"When you have Angela Rayner, the day after the fire... promising to do everything she can for the residents... and then 18 months later, the Govt and the GLA saying ‘actually we need the money back’, that’s outrageous. It’s absolutely outrageous." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

“We’re really angry, we’re scared, we’re upset - it’s now the Government that’s our biggest challenge. I feel betrayed." The worst residential fire since Grenfell. Leaseholders lost their homes. Now @UKLabour wants to claim £6m at the victims' expense. youtu.be/oCi4cSHImF4?...

Shared ownership: too expensive to buy, hard to sell… and the solution is to let more people into the same broken scheme a select committee called “an unbearable reality” 2 years ago? Make it make sense.

📆 This Friday at 12pm We’re joining journalist @peteapps.bsky.social for a live Substack chat on the building safety crisis. We’ll discuss what’s going wrong and how Labour could fix it. 🔗 Link and how to join in next post.

Nearly 8 months since Labour promised funding for buildings under 11m. Details due last September. Still missing. ⏳ Meanwhile leaseholders in “low-rise” blocks are getting life-changing bills for problems they didn’t cause. History repeating itself. Change? What change?

How many shared owners are trapped in blocks under 11m, facing life-changing bills @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social @samanthadixonmp.bsky.social? #SharedOwnership #BuildingSafetyCrisis

We joined leaseholders, policymakers and sector experts at a recent LEASE event to discuss the ongoing building safety crisis. From remediation delays to the reality facing residents still trapped in unsafe homes, here are the key takeaways. 👇 endourcladdingscandal.org/posts/lease-...

Our service charge is now over 2.3% of property value. But govt rules - the so-called nomination period - still require me to try and sell the flat to another shared owner for 3 months, and pay for the privilege. Even if the maths don’t add up. A shocking waste of money and time. Farcical.

Question for @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social How many shared ownership flats have annual service charges exceeding 1% of their value?

❗37% of flats now have annual service charges exceeding 1% of their value, with real consequences for lending. Nearly 1 in 5 flat sellers sold at a loss in 2025. Leaseholders are paying the price for soaring insurance premiums and building safety costs.

Are you a shared owner? Follow our WhatsApp channel for updates. 🖇️ whatsapp.com/channel/0029...

Labour are still sweeping building safety risks under the carpet to protect industry, while residents remain trapped in unsafe, unsellable homes. They promised a government-backed reinsurance scheme in opposition but have yet to deliver. www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/redraft...

"The failure was allowing unsafe buildings to be put up in the first place, and then creating years of uncertainty about who pays, how much, and when. (...) If you can’t price the risk, lenders hesitate, buyers hesitate, insurers reprice, and the market seizes up."

Joshua Robbins, 23, died after falling from his balcony when railings gave way. His mother, Fiona Garrett, said she faced a long fight for answers. 🗨️ "I feel like it's going to end up like a Grenfell situation, where it's constantly passing the buck." www.itv.com/news/london/...

Today as people spend time with their loved ones, as always we remember ours who were taken from us. 104 months on, and still no Justice for those lost at Grenfell. Alongside the red hearts you’ll see today, please take a moment to remember the significance of our green one💚