What is Co-Ownership?
We help you buy the home that’s right for you by sharing the cost. You buy the part you can afford, and we buy the rest.
Buying a home in Northern Ireland can feel challenging, especially if the full purchase price or deposit is out of reach. Co-Ownership offers an affordable home ownership solution through shared ownership, helping you move into your own home sooner, without needing to buy it all at once.
With Co-Ownership, you purchase the share of the property you can afford and we purchase the remainder. Each month you pay a mortgage on your share and a low rent on ours. This reduces the upfront cost of buying and keeps monthly payments manageable.
Over time, as your circumstances change, you can increase your share, including up to full ownership if that’s your goal. But there’s no pressure to do this, and no fixed timeline attached. You buy more at a pace that works for you.
Who we are
Co-Ownership is Northern Ireland’s only shared ownership provider, regulated and part-funded by the Department for Communities. Since 1978, we’ve helped more than 35,000 households across Northern Ireland become homeowners.
As a not-for-profit organisation, our focus is simple: making home ownership more achievable. We reinvest money we receive to help more local people buy their own home.
Video: Here's how Co-Ownership works
Instead of buying 100% of a home, you buy a share between 50% to 90% and we buy the rest. You pay us rent on our share, and because you're only borrowing for part of the home, your monthly costs stay lower, making home ownership something you can afford from day one.
You can buy more of your home whenever you're ready, in 5% steps or all at once, up to full ownership. There's no pressure and no timeline attached.
Our products
Co‑Ownership offers two products, each designed for a different stage of life and a different way of financing your move.
They work differently, but together they make home ownership possible for many people, and you can choose the option that best fits you based on your age, finances, and the kind of support you need.
Co-Own
This is our main product and suits most applicants.
Through Co-Own you buy a share of a home between 50% and 90% and we buy the remaining share. This reduces your upfront costs (such as the amount of a deposit required), helps lower your mortgage and gives you flexibility for the future.
Co-Own may be a good option if you can't save a deposit within a reasonable time or can't afford a full mortgage. You can start at a level that’s affordable now, and buy more of your home in the future.
Co-Own is designed for:
- first-time buyers
- people re-entering the housing market
- anyone who can afford to buy part of a home but not the full price
Co-Own for Over 55s
Designed for people aged 55 and over who want to move to a home that better suits their needs as they get older but can't afford to on their own. There's no mortgage involved - you buy a share of your new home (between 50% and 90%) using savings or equity from your current home when you sell it. We buy the rest and you pay us a small monthly rent on the share we own.
This might suit those:
- wanting to be nearer friends and family
- needing a home that is easier and cheaper to heat and maintain
- responding to health or mobility issues
- who have a lump sum that could be put towards a property
- coming to the end of an interest-only mortgage, without enough equity left when they sell their home to buy another by themselves
Find out more about Co-Own for Over 55s.
Weighing up your options
Here’s how Co-Own compares with the alternative of buying or renting.
Renting
Co-Own
Mortgage £566 + Rent £177 £743