Sales Policy
First Come First Served
We want the process of finding your new home to feel simple and fair. As long as funding or planning rules don’t require otherwise, homes will be offered on a first come, first served basis to customers who meet the eligibility and affordability criteria.
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To secure a home, you’ll need to complete a full affordability assessment and be sign‑off witha specialist Shared Ownership broker. This involves sharing all the necessary documents andincludes securing a valid Agreement in Principle. Don’t worry—our panel broker will guide you through exactly what’s needed and explain each step of the sign-off process.
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In line with the Capital Funding Guide, there is one exception: if you are a member of the Armed Forces, or have left service within the last two years, you will be given priority.
Adverse Credit
Halton Housing are committed to helping people into affordable home ownership. Just as importantly, we want to make sure that owning your home is sustainable and doesn’t put you at risk of future financial difficulties. To do this, we follow clear principles when looking at any adverse credit history at the point of application:
• No CCJ’s or defaults that remain unsatisfied within the last 2 years, unless communication defaults.
• No CCJ’s or defaults within the last two years, satisfied or unsatisfied over £300.
• No unsatisfied CCJs or defaults of more than £1000 registered at any time.
• IVA’s or Bankruptcy discharged three years ago are acceptable, or registered over 6 years ago and satisfied, with no further issues.
• Debt Management plans that have been repaid are acceptable.
• No mortgage or rent arrears in the previous 12 months.
• Previous repossession over three years ago is acceptable, provided no outstanding debt to lender and no other credit issue in the previous 3 years. (a letter from repossession lender to confirm no outstanding debt Is required).
Cash Purchasers
If you’re eligible for Shared Ownership and looking to pay cash rather than take out a mortgage, you will still be signposted to a specialist Shared Ownership broker as part of the application process. They will carry out an affordability assessment, complete a budget planner with you an provide the final sign off. Halton Housing may refuse a cash purchase if any of the following requirements are not met:
• Credit files will be required for all cash buyers.
• HH adverse credit policy, will be adhered to at all times. This includes partners and spouses of cash buyer applicants, who must also meet our adverse policy.
• The reason for needing to be a cash buyer cannot be because you have been declined a mortgage due to adverse credit.
• If buying cash due to age, the assessment will also take into consideration future income changes.
• For any customer buying less than a 25% share, a minimum of 20% net income surplus is needed.
• The minimum surplus income threshold must be met regardless of whether cash funds are available to purchase a share of the Shared Ownership home.
• The budget planner must reflect the household’s real spending supported by bank statements where needed.
• Expenditure figures must also be realistic, with ONS data for expenditure used in some instances.
Minimum Surplus
To make sure home ownership stays affordable and secure, customers must have at least 10% of their net mortgageable income left after all deductions and the stress‑tested rent. This acts as a safety buffer against unexpected costs or changes in circumstances.
Mortgageable net income is calculated as follows:
A = Gross Income
B= Less gross deductions (tax, National Insurance, student loan etc)
C = Less known commitments (loans, credit cards, childcare etc)
D = Less housing costs of the Shared Ownership purchase (rent and service charge)
Formula: A – B – C – D = E
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The above formula calculates ‘E’ as the mortgageable net household income available to support a mortgage payment and other essential expenditure (identified through a budget planner).
We also expect customers to provide realistic details about household spending. If your reported expenditure is lower than average figures (based on Office for National Statistics data), we may ask for bank statements to confirm.
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When assessing income, it must be considered sustainable. We can provide a list of acceptable income categories if needed. If income falls outside these categories and wouldn’t normally be accepted by mainstream lenders, it may not be included in the affordability assessment.
Please note, you’re not required to take your mortgage through the broker we refer you to. However, we will keep a copy of your budget planner and sign‑off sheet
Minimum Deposit
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Every applicant is expected to be able to provide at least 5% of the share value from their own resources, with a minimum £4,000 deposit required. You will need to be able to provide evidence of the source of these funds if requested.