Red Book reports for staircasing, assignment, remortgage and lease extension
Regulated
Shared-ownership paperwork in Bath often starts with a valuation, and the clock is usually tight. Our RICS-registered valuers produce a Red Book report accepted by housing associations, lenders and solicitors, with fixed fees from £350 and a turnaround of 5 working days after inspection. That matters in a place with Bath Stone terraces, flats near Bath Spa station and older homes around the River Avon, where the leaseholder needs a figure that stands up to scrutiny.
We work across Bath and North East Somerset, not just the centre of Bath. That means the same service for a flat in BA1, a terrace in BA2, a home in Midsomer Norton, or a property in Radstock, where shared ownership can sit alongside older stonework, clay soils and a lot of extra paperwork. The valuation itself stays the same in principle, but the local building stock changes the detail the valuer needs to inspect.
Fees are fixed by property value band. Under £300k, our shared-ownership valuation starts from £350. From £300k to £500k it starts from £425, from £500k to £750k it starts from £495, and over £750k it starts from £595. Bath has plenty of homes that fall into the higher bands, especially around the Georgian core and the BA2 side of the river, so it helps to know the fee before you book.
66%
Owner-occupier households
13
Outstanding schools in and around Bath
9
Independent preparatory schools
March 2021
Congestion charging zone introduced
Paddington + Bristol
Bath Spa station links
1%
New Model staircasing increment
5 working days
Report turnaround
Using listing data from home.co.uk and property data from homedata.co.uk
Staircasing starts the same way in Bath as it does in Keynsham or Midsomer Norton, with a Red Book valuation from a RICS-registered valuer. The housing association wants the open market value of the whole home, not a quick estimate pulled from a portal, because your next step depends on the exact figure. If you are buying another share, that value is the base for the calculation, whether the home is a flat near Bath Spa station or a Bath Stone terrace in BA1.
Selling your share is different, but the valuation still sits at the centre of the process. In shared ownership this is usually called assignment, and the landlord often has a nomination period of 4 to 8 weeks before you can market the property openly. In a city with a UNESCO World Heritage Site core, conservation areas and a lot of listed buildings, the landlord and the buyer both want a report that describes the home in clear, formal language.
Re-mortgaging and lease extension work in the same way. The lender wants to know the current value before it reviews the loan, while a lease extension asks for a fresh figure before solicitors start the calculation. In Bath and North East Somerset, that can matter on older stone buildings where repointing, damp, timber repairs or shrink-swell movement from clay soil may change how the valuer reads the property. The report is also used for final staircasing, when you buy the last share and move to 100% ownership.
Shared-ownership leases vary, but most landlords want a Red Book report from a RICS-registered valuer, with a 3 month window from inspection.
For staircasing, the report does one job. It sets the open market value of the whole property, not the slice you already own, so the price of the extra share is worked out from that figure. If a Bath flat near Bath Spa station is assessed at £420,000 and you are buying 25%, the share price is £105,000 before any legal or lender costs. Simple on paper. Less simple when the lease, the landlord and the mortgage lender all want the same number at the same time.
That open market value is shaped by local evidence, not guesswork. A valuer will look at comparable sales in Bath, Keynsham and Radstock, then adjust for things like Bath Stone construction, a listed façade, a flat roof extension or a conservation-area setting close to the city centre. In the older streets around the River Avon, condition matters as much as location, because a small issue with damp or repointing can move the figure.
Tell us what you need the report for, staircasing, assignment, remortgage or lease extension. We check the property details, the lease type and the address, whether that is a flat in BA1, a terrace in BA2 or a home further out in BA3.
You, your agent or the housing association arranges access. If the property is empty, let us know early, because a vacant flat near Bath Spa station or a rented house in Midsomer Norton can need a different booking pattern.
The valuer visits the home, notes the construction, condition and any visible defects, then considers Bath Stone, older lime mortar, timber wear, roof condition and any sign of damp or movement.
Our team writes the formal valuation and sends it within 5 working days of inspection. The report states the open market value and explains how the figure was reached, using local comparable evidence and the property’s condition on the day.
Send the report with your application as soon as it arrives. If the landlord works to a 3 month validity window, you will still be inside time if you have booked the inspection close to your application date.
Housing associations often treat the report as valid for 3 months from inspection, not from the day you receive it. In Bath, that can matter if your solicitor is waiting on leasehold enquiries, a mortgage decision or a nomination period on an assignment. Book the valuation when your paperwork is nearly ready, not when you have only just started the process.
The area is not just the Georgian core around the Crescent. Bath and North East Somerset also includes Keynsham, Saltford, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, so the same shared-ownership lease can sit in a Bath Stone terrace, a 20th-century flat or a newer block in BA3. A shared-ownership valuation has to work across that spread, which is why a local inspection matters more than a broad online estimate.
Bath Stone and conservation areas change how a valuer reads a property. On homes close to the River Avon, damp and drainage can be part of the story, while clay-rich ground in parts of the district can raise shrink-swell questions that matter on older walls and shallow foundations. Properties with altered windows, cement pointing or later extensions can also need closer attention, because those changes affect how the home sits in the market.
School catchments, Bath Spa station and the A4 all feed into buyer behaviour, but they do not replace the valuation. The district has 13 Outstanding schools and 9 independent preparatory schools, and Bath introduced a congestion charging zone in March 2021. Those factors shape demand, yet the Red Book report still comes back to comparable sales, physical condition and the lease terms attached to the shared ownership scheme.
One detail is easy to miss. That matters because a leaseholder in BA2, BA3 or BS31 can still need the same formal valuation even if the building stock, road pattern or local housing association activity looks different from central Bath. We keep the wording broad enough for the district, but the inspection stays property specific.
The phrase open market value often sounds more technical than it is. It means the price the home would achieve if sold on the open market on the day of inspection, using evidence from comparable homes in Bath, BA1 and BA2, not the price you hope to pay or the figure in a mortgage offer. If the same flat has a lease issue, a dated kitchen or a view over the River Avon floodplain, the valuer will factor that in. If the condition changes before your application lands, ask for a reinspection.
Can you challenge the figure? Sometimes you can ask for the valuer to review it, but a Red Book valuation is not a bargaining note. The valuer has to follow RICS Valuation Global Standards and set out the logic in the report, so any dispute needs fresh evidence or a material change in condition, not a hunch. That is useful in Bath, where older stone buildings and conservation controls can make a property look better or worse than the sale comparison down the road.
It gives the open market value that your housing association, lender or solicitor will use for the next step. In Bath and North East Somerset, that could be staircasing, assignment, remortgage or lease extension, and the figure has to come from a Red Book report rather than a casual estimate.
Most housing associations treat it as valid for 3 months from the inspection date. If your paperwork slips outside that window, even a flat in BA1 or a house in Radstock may need a fresh inspection before the landlord will accept the report.
In most shared-ownership cases, the leaseholder pays. If you are selling your share through assignment, the seller usually pays. Our fees start from £350 under £300k, £425 from £300k to £500k, £495 from £500k to £750k and £595 above £750k, so the exact fee depends on the property value band.
We turn the Red Book report around within 5 working days of inspection. In Bath, the main delay is usually access, especially for a locked flat near Bath Spa station or a home in Midsomer Norton where the owner, agent and housing association all need to line up a time.
You can ask for a review if something material has changed, such as a reinspection after repairs or new damage. What usually does not work is simply disagreeing with the number, because the valuer has to rely on comparable evidence from Bath, Keynsham, Radstock and the property’s condition on the day.
Most landlords want a RICS-registered valuer and a Red Book format, so that is the first thing to check. If the lease calls for a particular wording or the landlord wants a report in a different format, we can look at the requirement and issue the valuation in the right form for the application.
On New Model shared ownership schemes, yes, 1% staircasing is usually available each year after 2021. Older schemes usually need a 10% minimum, so a leaseholder in Bath or BA3 should check the lease before planning the next purchase.
Final staircasing means buying the last share so you own 100% of the property. After that, the home is fully owned and you no longer pay rent on the unsold share, although the solicitor may still need the Red Book valuation to complete the transfer cleanly.
Price on request
Legal support for buying more shares or completing an assignment in Bath and North East Somerset.
Price on request
For selling your shared-ownership share, including the legal work linked to nomination periods and completion.
Price on request
Speak to a mortgage broker about staircasing, remortgaging or buying outright after final staircasing.
Price on request
Useful for Bath Stone terraces, flats and newer homes where you want a clearer picture of condition before you proceed.
Price on request
Removal support for a move within Bath, across BA2 or out towards Keynsham, Saltford or Radstock.
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Red Book reports for staircasing, assignment, remortgage and lease extension
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