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Virtual

Shared ownership is in the spotlight – and not for the right reasons. Join sector experts for a must-attend event exploring legal shifts, policy changes and best practice that can transform customer experience and reset the future of shared ownership.

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    Shared ownership is making headlines again, as a BBC investigation revealed that complaints about costs, transparency and repairs have risen nearly 400% in five years – and continue to climb.

    Frustrated owners are taking legal action over what they see as unfair charges, while government is consulting on measures to improve transparency and strengthen protections.

    At the same time, change is already underway: the Renter’s Rights Bill will stop shared owners being treated as tenants in possession cases, new court judgements are testing landlords’ ability to vary leases, and the emerging sector Code of Conduct is pushing providers to raise service standards.

    It is time for a reset and this special event, designed for leasehold and home ownership teams, is an opportunity not to be missed. Hear from experts on both sides of the relationship, explore the latest legal and policy shifts, and see first-hand examples of good practice improving customer satisfaction in the sector.

    What will be covered:

    • Improving services and satisfaction
    • Service charges and rents
    • Getting complex ownership and management structures right
    • Older people’s shared ownership
    • A legal update.

    Essential for:

    • Leasehold teams
    • Shared ownership teams
    • Strategy and policy leads
    • Those who want to improve the shared ownership experience
    • Directors of housing
    • Directors of asset
    • Development directors
    • Operational teams – housing, repairs and maintenance, customer services
    • Customer service teams
    • Communications teams
    • Teams with responsibility for service charges or after sales care.
  • Our speakers
    Helen Muir, Associate, HQN
    Helen has extensive experience of shared ownership, having worked in senior roles for two large housing groups where her responsibilities included sales programme delivery and the management of over 5,000 shared ownership/leasehold homes, along with running the largest Help to Buy agency in England.

    As a consultant Helen specialises in affordable home ownership and leasehold management, and has provided interim management and strategic and operational support to a number of registered providers, local authorities and private sector companies. Helen also supports the Leasehold Network, writing briefings and speaking at several events.
    Bernie Conroy, Shared Ownership Code Consultant, New Homes Quality Board
    Bernie has over 36 years of leadership in the housing sector and is a Chartered Marketer with a passion for making home ownership more accessible. She co-founded the first intermediate market one-stop shops, which became the model for the national Help to Buy HomeBuy Agency network, and later helped set up and manage the national Post Sales Help to Buy Agency with English Partnerships and Homes England.

    A former Managing Director of a G15 housing association, Bernie has also chaired the NHF Shared Ownership Advisory Panel and London Home Ownership Group. She has contributed to government review panels focused on improving affordable housing, always championing innovation, collaboration, and great customer experience.

    Since 2017, Bernie has provided consultancy to housing associations  and local authorities delivering strategic sales and marketing support for first-time buyer and later-living markets. Most recently, she’s played a key role in developing and implementing the new Shared Ownership Code and was awarded the Johnnie Irwin Legacy Award  for at the 2025 First Time Buyer Magazine awards.
    Jatinder Bhamber, Partner, Devonshires
    Jatinder is a Chartered Legal Executive in the Housing Management & Property Litigation team at Devonshires Solicitors. Jatinder has a strong practice in Shared Ownership and Leasehold matters and regularly advises Registered Providers on shared ownership arrears proceedings, forfeiture, service charge disputes, unauthorised alterations and boundary disputes.

    Jatinder also advises Registered Providers and Local Authorities on all aspects of housing and tenancy management, including possession actions, Anti-Social Behaviour injunctions, tenancy fraud, subletting committals, Disrepair & Fitness for Human Habitation claims and EPA actions.

    Jatinder also provides non-contentious advice to clients including the drafting of policies and procedures in relation to Shared Ownership as well as lease reviews and interpretation. Jatinder frequently provides training to Registered Providers to assist in the recovery of Shared Ownership arrears and Leaseholder debt.
    Samantha Grix, Partner, Devonshires
    Samantha is a Partner in the Housing Management and Property Litigation team at Devonshires and has worked in the sector for almost 15 years. She was called to the Bar before cross qualifying as a solicitor and has worked at Devonshires throughout her career.

    Samantha deals with all areas of housing management and specialises in rent regulation and the consumer standards. She regularly advises clients on compliance and forms part of their team when an issue is discovered to the point of resolution.
    Sue Phillips, Founder, Shared Ownership Resources
    Sue launched Shared Ownership Resources, in 2021, to champion the interests of shared owners and households considering shared ownership. The project publishes case studies, collaborates with housing, legal and financial experts to offer specialist information and advice; and campaigns for improved transparency and better outcomes and against mis-selling and other poor practices in the sector.

    She has spoken at housing and lender events including the CIH / NHF Housing Community Summit 2025 and the British New Homes Mortgage Senate 2022. In May 2023, she published Shared Ownership: The Consumer Perspective.

    Sue is a qualified chartered accountant (retired), writer and former shared owner.
    Stavrina Tofallis, Partner, Devonshires
    Stavrina advises on all aspects of residential property development projects, including acquisitions and site set ups. Stavrina has expertise in drafting both outright and shared ownership leases, transfers and other related documents. She deals with residential sales and purchases both for individuals and companies and leads on street acquisition programmes. She supervises a team dealing with plot sales, resales, staircasing both interim and final, Right to Buy and Right to Acquire transactions as well as Deeds of Variation and other related documents. She also heads Devonshire’s lease extensions team dealing with both voluntary and statutory lease extensions. Stavrina has experience in acting for a number of developers, banks, building societies and Registered Providers on a range of matters from shared ownership and open market plot sales of residential flats and houses, to re-sales and staircasing, street property sales and purchases and lease extensions.
    Nema Munbodh, Associate, Devonshires
    At Devonshires Nema handles a broad range of site set up on schemes and focuses predominantly on residential developments in the affordable sphere. Nema has experience working alongside Registered Providers and developers of all sizes specialising in outright and shared ownership disposals. Nema’s day-to-day comprises of structuring disposals and producing the lease and transfer documentation to allow for the purchase of individual plots. Nema provides ongoing development guidance throughout the lifetime of the scheme and can also advise on estate management arrangements for large multi-phased developments.
    Abi Harries, Head of Homeownership, LiveWest
    Abigail is Head of Homeownership at LiveWest, where she leads a dedicated team responsible for leasehold, freehold, and shared ownership customers, with a focus on transparency, customer experience, and continuous improvement. Her academic background sparked a strong interest in property law, which led her to begin her career in leasehold property management nearly 15 years ago. Abigail has held a similar role at Stonewater, covering all homeownership services, and worked as a Senior Adjudicator, resolving landlord and tenant disputes. She is an active member of the National Leasehold Group (NLG) and holds professional qualifications from The Property Institute (TPI) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

     

  • Programme

    10:30am Chair’s welcome and introduction

    • Helen Muir, Associate, HQN

    10:35am The aims of the New Homes Quality Board

    • Bernie Conroy, Shared Ownership Code Consultant, New Homes Quality Board

    Bernie will explain what the Code is, how it’s structured and how its principles help improve transparency, consistency and trust for both providers and residents. She’ll explore the service charge requirements that ensure fairness and accountability, outline what the Code means in practice for providers and guide you through the simple steps to adopt it. Don’t miss this opportunity to understand how the Code can support best practice and enhance the shared ownership experience.

    11:05am The Renters’ Rights Bill, legal and regulatory update

    • Jatinder Bhamber, Partner, Devonshires
    • Samantha Grix, Partner, Devonshires

    Jatinder will explore how the Renters’ Rights Bill will affect shared owners, providing a clear overview of the latest legal and regulatory developments shaping shared ownership. He will also reference recent case law examples, highlighting what landlords can learn from these cases and how to apply those lessons in practice.

    Samantha will trace how shared ownership rents have evolved over time, providing useful context for the current policy and market landscape. She will discuss the issues her clients are increasingly facing and offer practical advice for delegates on reviewing and updating their own policies and procedures to ensure compliance and best practice.

    11:45am Break

    12:00pm The affordability of shared ownership

    • Sue Philips, Founder, Shared Ownership Resources

    Sue will examine the affordability of shared ownership, drawing on findings from the HCLG inquiry into the affordability of home ownership. She will summarise the key themes identified through both the written evidence and the panel discussions, highlighting what they reveal about the real costs and challenges faced by shared owners. Sue will give practical takeaways for landlords to improve transparency, affordability and outcomes across the sector.

    12:30pm The TSMs and shared owners satisfaction

    • Abigail Harries, Head of Homeownership, LiveWest

    1:00pm Legal perspective on the Shared Ownership Code

    • Stavrina Tofallis, Partner, Devonshires
    • Nema Munbodh, Associate, Devonshires

    Stavrina and Nema will introduce the new Shared Ownership Code, explain why it is needed, and set out its key principles from a legal standpoint. They will translate what the code means for housing providers—highlighting implications for governance, sales and aftercare, transparency and complaint handling—while showing how it strengthens outcomes for residents through clearer information and fairer processes. The session concludes with practical implementation advice and immediate next steps for organisations, including gap analysis, policy and document updates, staff training and assurance/monitoring.

    1:30pm Close  

  • Cancellations and substitutions

    If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

    Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

    If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

    Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.

  • Price and booking

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    If you experience any issues when submitting your booking, please email [email protected] with the name and date of the session along with the delegate name(s), email address(es) and job title(s) and we'll process the booking for you.

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