This year at UKREiiF on 20 May 2025, I’m going to be speaking on a panel about The Future of Shared Ownership and the opportunities and challenges it presents.
At Abri we believe everyone has the right to a good quality safe, warm and sustainable home and through shared ownership we’ve helped thousands of people get a foot on the housing ladder. In the last five years alone, we’ve sold nearly 1600 shared ownership homes and helped customers increase the equity in their home through over 800 staircasing transactions. Abri has offered shared ownership since the early 1990’s and shared ownership now accounts for about 10 per cent of our homes and approximately 40 per cent of Abri’s development pipeline. We’re committed to delivering 10,000 homes by 2030 and shared ownership plays a pivotal role in providing people with a more affordable route to homeownership.
Our customers repeatedly tell us how they’ve found their dream home through shared ownership which highlights how it can deliver not just affordable homes, but homes built to a really high standard that people want to live in long term. However, we know that we can’t be complacent and we need to have an honest look at what we do and how we can deliver the best possible service for our shared owners.
What are your shared owners telling you?
For us we knew listening to our customers and reflecting on what they’ve told us through Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) was the first stage. Our results from the TSM surveys highlighted that the overall satisfaction for shared owners was lower than for our rental customers. Taking onboard that feedback and looking at ways to improve that service was the next stage. But the shared ownership experience isn’t just the role of the Sales and Marketing department, we know it encompasses many different facets of the business, so how can we take a holistic approach to improving overall satisfaction?
For Abri, we’ve recently been undertaking a strategic review which has looked at six core areas of our shared ownership offering. This has involved speaking directly to shared owners through interviews and surveys to collate feedback. Specialists from different teams across Abri, have then worked together in focus groups to review subject matter and return in-depth analysis and recommendations for improvement. We’ve been taking a deep dive to have honest and frank conversations on key areas such as service charges, estate and grounds maintenance, the customer journey, defects and the impact of regulation.
Transparency in shared ownership
We’re still at the stage where we’re collating the findings of these focus groups which has involved months of consultation and analysis. What has helped us during the strategic review is carrying out an honest assessment of why shared ownership satisfaction rates have dropped in certain instances. We’ve carried out root cause analysis to identify trends when looking at complaints by service areas and key complaint themes. One area from our findings, that is also gaining attention across the sector, is the need for transparency and clear information at every stage of the customer journey. We’ve found some valuable insights by analysing each step and what shared owners have told us, from buying their new home through to the after sales service.
Not only are we looking at this internally, but we’re also working with other organisations as part of the senior advisory group to the Shared Ownership Council to establish a new Shared Ownership Code of Good Practice. The Code is a cross-industry initiative designed to standardise best practices and consumer protection for shared ownership. Covering all types of organisations that interact with shared owners, it aims to ensure transparency, fairness, and improved support for shared owners in marketing, purchasing, and management of homes.
Working together for the future of shared ownership
Our strategic review of shared ownership is providing us with some meaningful understanding of how we can improve our service for customers. In my view, if shared ownership is to thrive, we need to keep listening to our customers, a voice which is central to everything we do. Looking ahead, shared ownership needs to continue to be accessible and fair, its success is dependent on effective implementation and addressing existing challenges. Recent reforms and growing investment indicate that it plays an important role as an affordable housing option.
I’m really looking forward to the discussion with my panel members at UKREIIF and I’d love to hear your views on how we can make it work best for all our customers. Please reach out to me with your own views and opinions so we can share ideas on what’s worked well. Collaboration will be key to creating meaningful outcomes and we can ensure that shared owners receive a more seamless, supportive experience that truly meets their expectations and needs.
Stuart will be speaking on the panel at UKREIIF on Tuesday 20 May 2025 4pm-6pm, discussing the Future of Shared Ownership in the UK.
For more information visit: UKREiFF
Stuart Hensby
Director of Sales and Marketing