Shared ownership is a way to purchase property if you can't afford to pay for a mortgage on 100% of a home – you simply buy a share of it. A housing developer owns the rest but you can buy additional shares as and when you can afford it. Both new homes and existing homes can be purchased through a shared ownership scheme.
Through Help to Buy, homebuyers can purchase between 25% and 75% of the property using a deposit and a mortgage. You then pay rent on the remaining share, which is owned by a local housing association. The rent you pay can be up to 3% of the association's share of the value of the property.