Sue Phillips, founder of Shared Ownership Resources has written an open letter to Guy Parker, CEO of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), in a bid to bring more regulation to the advertising around Shared Ownership.
Established in March 2021, Shared Ownership Resources is a platform which aims to provide greater clarity on complex issues to assist first-time buyers and shared owners in making informed decisions.
As part of its newly published report, Shared Ownership: The Consumer Perspective (2023), Shared Ownership Resources has put forward a recommendation to the Government and ASA, calling for an independent review into shared ownership marketing.
Through the proposed review, it hopes to consult on options to prevent mis-selling and deliver an enforceable Code of Practice for shared ownership marketing and promotion.
In particular, Shared Ownership Resources cites widespread concerns about the commonplace ‘part buy, part rent’ terminology, which they feel exaggerates the level of ownership that a prospective buyer may avail of, thus over-simplifying the complexities of the Shared Ownership model.
Phillips also highlights a misleading lack of information about short leases in her letter, as well as problematic affordability claims and whether the cross-subsidy model creates a conflict of interests which influences what is and isn’t disclosed in advertisements.
The open letter can be read in full here.
