In rural areas in Yorkshire and the Humber where replacing affordable
housing is difficult, new shared ownership properties will have to remain
shared ownership to ensure future buyers also have a chance to step on to
the property ladder.
Generally, shared owners can staircase up to full ownership. But in
some rural areas it is incredibly hard to replace homes that become fully
owned and are subsequently sold on the open market.
Now under new powers in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, more than
13,000 small rural settlements will be designated ‘protected’
areas across England, including several parish council areas across North,
South and West Yorkshire, together with the East Riding, North Lincolnshire
and North East Lincolnshire. These will be areas where land to build new
affordable homes is severely limited or where it is not possible to buy
existing properties for shared ownership because of the small size of the
housing market.
