Local Lib Dems demand shared ownership housing is kept truly affordable in Milton Keynes

Shared ownership is a combination of buying and renting, where you own a share of the property and rent a percentage of it.

The scheme is designed to make buying a house easier for first time buyers and people with lower incomes. But sometimes a premium is added onto the price of the property, normally for improvements made to it.

And some of these premiums can be so excessive and unfair that they simply stop people from ever getting on the property ladder, say the Lib Dems.

Councillor Jenni Ferrans, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Community and Housing, is proposing the council investigate these excessive premiums in MK.

She said; “It is important that Milton Keynes Council is doing everything it can to help residents onto the property ladder, and one way they can do this is by investigating premiums on shared ownership homes that are sometimes extremely costly.”

“Young people in particular are struggling to access the housing market, and by investigating this issue, the Council would be proving that they are truly committed to affordable housing, and the future homes for the children of Milton Keynes.”

The Liberal Democrat Group will also bring motions on free school meals and fighting child hunger, and on helping care leavers into accommodation