New Builds and Shared Ownership: What the Conveyancing Really Involves

Buying a new build or a shared ownership home is not the same as buying an existing house. The legal work is often more demanding, the paperwork is heavier, and, crucially, the deadlines are much tighter. Understanding that up front is the single best way to avoid losing a reservation fee or the home itself.

The Reservation and the 28-Day Clock

Most developers ask for a reservation fee (usually a few hundred to a couple of thousand pounds) to take the property off the market, and then require you to exchange contracts within 28 days, sometimes 42. That's a genuinely short window when the legal pack, searches and mortgage all have to line up.

The practical answer is to move fast: instruct your solicitor and mortgage broker within a few days of reserving, and get your mortgage application in immediately. If the deadline is genuinely unachievable, we ask the developer for a formal extension early, while we can still show progress.

What's Different About New Build Conveyancing

New build purchases involve extra layers a resale doesn't:

• A large developer contract pack with plans, specifications, warranties and estate arrangements to review.
• A building warranty (such as NHBC or similar) covering structural defects for a period after completion.
• A long gap between exchange and completion, because the home may not be finished. Completion often happens months later, on "notice to complete" once the property is built and certified.
• Estate charges and management arrangements on many new developments, which we check carefully so you know what you're committing to.

Shared Ownership

With shared ownership you buy a share of the property (commonly between 25% and 75%) and pay rent on the rest to a housing provider. The conveyancing runs to similar tight timescales, and the lease itself needs careful review, the rent, the rules on selling, and the terms for buying more shares later all matter.

Staircasing: Buying More Shares

"Staircasing" is the process of increasing your share over time. It typically involves:

• Notifying your housing provider (usually with around 28 days' notice).
• An independent RICS valuation of the property (valid for roughly three months).
• Arranging a mortgage or cash for the extra share, with a mortgage offer in place before exchange.
• Instructing a solicitor to amend the lease and recalculate your rent.

On Stamp Duty, further SDLT generally isn't due on staircasing until you pass 80% ownership, though how it's handled depends on the elections made at the original purchase.

A Word on Help to Buy

The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme in England closed to new applicants in 2022 and isn't available in 2026, and there's no direct replacement in England at present. Help to Buy ISAs are also closed to new savers, though existing holders can still claim their bonus for now. We'll always work from the schemes actually open to you.

How Bonsai Law Can Help

New build reservations run on tight developer timetables, and shared ownership leases carry detail that's easy to miss. We handle both to the deadlines that apply, review the developer pack and lease properly, and flag anything that could cost you later. If you're reserving a new build, talk to us before the clock starts.