<p><span>Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced a range of measures to help people on lower incomes access the housing ladder, including changes to shared ownership.</span></p> <p><span>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will consult on a “new national model” for shared ownership to make it simpler for people to purchase more of their home, including the option to buy in 1% increments.</span></p> <p><span>MHCLG said that under shared ownership’s current “staircasing” - where a stake in a home is increased until it is bought outright – future home owners must buy an increased share in 10% increments, “which can be as much as </span><span>£45,000 per time”.</span></p><p><span>The proposal, MHCLG said, “will help to fulfil the prime minister’s priority to level up the whole country, closing the opportunity gap and helping millions of young people into home ownership."</span></p><p><span>Jenrick also announced that he would seek to reform the planning system to boost housing delivery and make home ownership more affordable for first time buyers, particularly in the costliest areas.</span></p><p><span>“This could include increasing the number of homes sold at discounted prices to people trying to get onto the property ladder, boosting home ownership and helping build local support for new development,” MHCLG said.</span></p><p><span>Also …