Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO)
Source: gov.uk (2025-12-03)

People aged 55 or over and looking to buy a home can buy an initial share in an Older Persons Shared Ownership scheme (OPSO) home and pay rent on the rest.

The Older Persons Shared Ownership scheme (OPSO) scheme follows the same rules as the shared ownership scheme (https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme).

Who can apply

You may be able to purchase a home from a provider of shared ownership homes (https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme/finding-shared-ownership-home) if:
- you are over 55
- the home is advertised under the OPSO scheme
- your household income is £80,000 a year or less (£90,000 in London)
- you cannot afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs
One of the following statements must also apply. You:
- are a first-time buyer
- used to own a home but cannot afford to buy one now
- are forming a new household — for example, after a relationship breakdown
- are an existing shared owner and want to move
- own a home and want to move but cannot afford to buy a new home that meets your needs
If you own a home

When you buy an OPSO home, you must have:
- formally accepted an offer for the sale of your current home (called ‘sold subject to contract’ or ‘STC’)
- written confirmation of the sale agreed (called a ‘memorandum of sale’) including price and your intention to sell
You must have completed the sale of your home on, or before, the date you complete buying your shared ownership home.

Buying your share

The share you can buy is based on your individual financial circumstances and will be between 10% and 75% of the home’s full market value.

You can take out a mortgage to buy your share or pay for it with savings.

You will need to pay a deposit — usually between 5% and 10% of the share you are buying.

You can buy more shares in your home in future — this is known as ‘staircasing’. If you buy more shares, you will pay less rent. The amount of rent you pay will be based on the landlord’s share.

Once you own 75% of the home you do not have to pay rent on the remaining 25% share of the property.

Features of OPSO

You must be 55 or over to buy an OPSO home but your spouse or civil partner may also be able to live there if they are under 55 when you buy it.

If you die and someone under 55 inherits your home, they cannot continue to live there unless they were a spouse or civil partner living in your home at the time of your death.

The person inheriting your home must continue to pay service charges and rent until the property is sold.

Finding an OPSO home

1. Check if you can buy a home through OPSO

Find out who can buy a home through shared ownership (https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme/who-can-apply).

2. Find a home you want to buy

If you are eligible, you can contact an organisation selling OPSO homes in your area.

They will:
- check you are eligible
- share information about any homes for sale
- arrange viewings of homes you are interested in
- check you can afford the home
Find a shared ownership home for sale in England (https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme/finding-shared-ownership-home).

3. Reserve your home

If you’re eligible to buy the home, you can reserve it by paying a fee (of up to £500) to the landlord.

When you pay the fee, no one else will be able to reserve the home for a fixed period. The landlord will let you know how long the fee secures the home for.

The fee will be taken off the final amount you pay on the day you buy the home (‘completion day’).

If you do not buy the home, you will not usually get a refund for the fee. Check with the landlord before you reserve it.

4. Choose someone to do the legal work

You will need to find a legal professional to handle the process of transferring ownership of the property from the seller to you (called ‘conveyancing’).

You can use a solicitor or licenced conveyancer. They will explain the terms of the shared ownership lease to you and check the conditions of your mortgage offer, if you have one.

Find out more about how to buy a home including ‘instructing a legal representative’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-buy-a-home) (conveyancing).

Help and advice

You can get advice on buying, improving and selling shared ownership homes (https://www.gov.uk/shared-ownership-scheme/help-advice).