What is Co-ownership?

Co-ownership, also known as shared ownership, is when one or more parties enter a co-ownership agreement to buy and own a property together. Depending on the arrangement, some parties may live in the property while others are just investors, or all parties may live in the home. Each party’s rights and obligations are established prior to co-buying the property and are outlined in a co-ownership agreement, signed before or when the home is purchased.

Co-ownership has many similarities, and a few key differences, to professional co-ownership.

Why is this term important?

In the traditional real estate market, residents either rent and own 0% of their home, or they buy a home and own all of it. Co-ownership gives homebuyers a new option, to break into the market without having to own 100% of the home they want to live in.

Co-ownership can be a great way to get onto the property ladder when homebuyers don’t have the savings to do it themselves, or if they have the savings but don’t want to put all of it towards their home. By pooling resources with others, buyers can co-invest and begin taking advantage of everything that homeownership has to offer.

Here is an example:

Co-ownership is a creative approach to homeownership that can be between family, friends, or even strangers.

This can include two siblings purchasing a home and living together, friends purchasing a duplex and each living in a separate unit, or two unrelated parties becoming partners where only one party lives in the property, and the other is a non-occupying owner or investor.