Existing shared ownership mortgage holders will be able to choose from specific shared ownership products when their current rates end.
Reliance Bank has introduced a standalone shared ownership proposition, for the first time, catering for purchases, remortgages and staircasing applications.
The proposition will also offer first-time buyers (FTBs) a free standard mortgage valuation for properties up to £700,000 market value.
Existing shared ownership mortgage holders will be able to choose from specific shared ownership products when their current rates end.
This is part of a number of changes made by the lender to encourage and support market activity in response to COVID-19.
Reliance Bank has also made rate reductions to its standard mortgage products for customers borrowing up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV).
These reductions apply for both fee and no-fee products.
The FTB incentive of a free standard valuation is maintained as part of the bank's offering.
Reliance Bank has made the commitment to maintain mortgage lending up to 90% LTV; however, to align with the rest of the market, it has announced that it will reduce the maximum loan size at 90% to £250,000.
Gareth Byrne (pictured), head of mortgages at Reliance Bank, said: “I am pleased to provide a specific shared ownership mortgage solution to the market.
"At Reliance Bank we are committed to helping people with low incomes own a share of a property and pay rent on the rest.
"It is designed to help people with small deposits and lower incomes get on the property ladder.
"Together with a number of rate reductions that have been launched today for people who only need to borrow up to 75% of their homes, I’m also really proud that we are committed to helping the first-time buyer market through our free standard mortgage valuation offering as well as maintain our commitment to allow customers to borrow up to 90% LTV.
"These steps show that Reliance Bank are indeed open for business and are here to support the housing market during these challenging times.”
