Your lease - traditional model
When you purchase a shared ownership property, you’ll sign a lease. This is a legally binding contract between you, as the leaseholder, and NRHA, as your landlord.
Your lease gives you the right to use and live in your home for a set period of time. This is known as the ‘term’ of the lease. NRHA owns the freehold of the building and, in most cases, the land that the property is built on.
You, as the owner occupier have full responsibility for the property as defined in the lease.
A shared ownership lease usually lasts for 99 or 125 years from the date the first person bought a share in the property. The home can be bought or sold during that time and the length of the lease decreases. So, if the property is sold to a new shared owner, the lease is then assigned to the new owner, a new lease is not created.
Shared owner leases are complex documents. You will have had the chance to read it before signing and your solicitor should have explained the terms and responsibilities you have agreed to. Please check with your solicitor or legal representative if you're not sure about anything.