Shared ownership is a government-backed scheme, designed to make stepping onto the property ladder more affordable. You buy a portion of a home normally with a mortgage and a deposit, and pay a low-cost rent on the rest.

The eligibility criteria for Shared Ownership is simple; as long as you don't currently own, or won't own another property when you move in to a new home, you're likely to qualify.

Your annual household income (that's both yours and your partners' if buying together) can't exceed £80,000 (or £90,000 in London) and you'll need to have savings to cover purchasing costs such as solicitors fees and your mortgage deposit.

There's no fixed minimum income; you just need to be able to afford to buy the home and the monthly costs - this will be established via an affordability.

No - the scheme is designed to help people buy a suitably sized home that they cannot afford to buy otherwise. That typically means first time buyers, but if you've owned a home before and are selling, perhaps due to a divorce or needing to buy a bigger home, and cannot afford to buy, you might be eligible for Shared Ownership.

All Shared Ownership properties will have a service charge. If there is not one showing on the listing it will be in the Key Information Document that is available with the listing.

In shared ownership, a service charge is a monthly or periodic payment made by the shared owner towards the cost of maintaining and managing the communal areas of the building or estate. It's separate from the rent paid on the share of the property not owned.