Shared ownership makes buying a home more affordable, but it changes what a “normal” house move actually involves, because you don’t own the whole property outright – a housing association still holds the remaining share, and your lease reflects that. If you’re planning a move from, into, or between shared ownership properties, there are permission steps that a standard homeowner move simply doesn’t have, and missing them can hold up completion.
You don’t just sell – you deal with the landlord’s share too
Selling a shared ownership home isn’t the same transaction as selling a home you own outright. The housing association retains an interest in the property through your lease, and most shared ownership leases give them a role in the resale process – commonly a “nomination period” during which the association has first refusal to find a buyer from their own waiting list before you can market the property on the open market. This is a lease-specific term, so the exact length and process varies between providers, which makes checking your actual lease document before instructing a removal company or committing to a moving date genuinely worthwhile.
Alterations need permission – and that includes things movers might disturb
It isn’t only the sale itself that needs sign-off. Housing associations generally require written permission before any significant alteration to the property. Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association’s own guidance states plainly that “in most cases, you need our permission before making any changes,” distinguishing between simple redecoration – which doesn’t need approval – and larger changes such as new flooring, a new kitchen or bathroom, or anything affecting the structure, which does. That matters for moving day specifically if a move involves removing fitted units, altering flooring to protect it during a move, or any work to the property before or after – work that might otherwise seem routine, but which technically needs the landlord’s consent under the lease.
What the permission process actually looks like
Where permission is required, expect a formal request rather than an informal email exchange. ISHA’s process, typical of the sector, asks for a detailed description of the proposed work, evidence of any building or planning approval needed, details of the contractor, and a completed application form, followed by a site visit from a surveyor before a decision is made – and an alteration licence fee (commonly around £150 plus VAT) is often charged to cover the association’s administrative cost. None of this is designed to be quick, so building in the time for it – rather than assuming it can be sorted the week before moving day – avoids a genuinely common source of delay.
Why this can affect your eventual sale value too
There’s a longer-term reason to keep records of any approved alterations: housing associations commonly take genuine improvements into account when revaluing the property for a future sale or staircasing (buying a larger share). ISHA’s guidance notes it “may consider them when re-valuing your home,” specifically citing new kitchens, bathrooms, double glazing, central heating upgrades and cavity wall insulation as examples. Work carried out without permission, by contrast, risks not being recognised in a valuation at all, on top of being a breach of the lease.
What to check before you book a move
Three things are worth confirming with your housing association well before a moving date is fixed: whether a sale is subject to a nomination period and how long it runs, whether any planned work at either the old or new property needs a formal alteration licence, and whether subletting rules affect your situation if the move is temporary rather than a full sale (subletting is typically restricted under shared ownership leases and usually needs separate written permission). None of these are things a removal company can advise on – they sit specifically between you and the housing association.
How long a nomination period can actually add to a sale
Because the nomination period sits ahead of a normal open-market listing, it’s worth treating it as genuine extra time in a moving timeline rather than a formality that happens in parallel with everything else. Some housing associations run this stage quickly, especially where their own waiting list is thin for a particular size or area of property; others take considerably longer, particularly in higher-demand areas where the association’s own list is long. Asking directly how long the association’s own nomination period has taken on recent, comparable sales – rather than relying only on what the lease document states as a maximum – gives a more realistic figure to plan a moving date around.
What happens if work is carried out without permission
Housing associations generally have the right to require unauthorised alterations to be reversed, at the leaseholder’s own cost, if permission wasn’t sought before work went ahead – which is a materially worse outcome than simply waiting for a permission process to complete. Beyond the immediate cost of undoing work, an association that discovers unauthorised alterations during a sale-related inspection can delay the nomination or sale process itself while the situation is resolved, which is the opposite of what someone trying to move on a reasonable timeline actually wants.
The bottom line
A shared ownership move carries an extra layer most removal guides don’t mention: a landlord with a genuine stake in the property, who may need to approve both the sale process and any physical changes involved. Checking your lease and contacting your housing association early is the step that keeps a shared ownership move on the same timeline as any other.
Sources
- Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association, “Home Improvements (Shared Ownership and Leaseholders)” – isha.co.uk/resident-services/leaseholders-and-shared-owners/home-improvements-shared-ownership