The questions we get asked most about Designated Protected Areas, Shared Ownership staircasing and resale — answered plainly, with the official sources behind them.
A Designated Protected Area (DPA) is a mostly rural area of England listed in the Housing (Right to Enfranchise) (Designated Protected Areas) (England) Order 2009 (SI 2009/2098). In a DPA, grant-funded Shared Ownership leases carry extra restrictions so the home stays available to local people — typically a cap on staircasing, or a requirement to offer the home back to the landlord when you sell.
Designation works at civil parish level. Enter an address, postcode, coordinates or drop a map pin on DPA Check and it matches the property's parish against the parish schedules in SI 2009/2098, then shows the reasoning and the official sources behind the result. Around 9,800 parishes in England are designated.
Often not. Grant-funded Shared Ownership leases in a DPA usually either cap staircasing (commonly at 80%) or allow full staircasing only if the home is offered back to the landlord on resale. Which applies depends on your individual lease, so read the staircasing and resale clauses and confirm with your provider.
It can. DPA leases commonly give the landlord a nomination period to find a buyer first, and may require the home to be resold to the provider or to another buyer who meets local criteria. That can make a sale slower than an ordinary Shared Ownership resale.
Both happen. Around 91% of designated parishes are designated in their entirety, so the parish name alone settles it. The rest — roughly 879 parishes — are designated only in part, 'by maps', and you need the official Homes England boundary map sheet for that parish to see whether a specific property falls inside the designated area.
No. A DPA is only one source of a staircasing restriction. A Section 106 planning agreement, a rural exception site condition, or the terms of your individual lease can each cap staircasing independently of DPA status. A 'not in a DPA' result does not on its own guarantee unrestricted staircasing.
No. SI 2009/2098 applies to England only. Shared Ownership in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland operates under separate rules, and DPA Check covers England only.
It can. The 2009 Order sits within the right-to-enfranchise rules, and designation can restrict the route to acquiring the freehold of a house in a protected area even where you have staircased. Your lease and a conveyancer are the authority on your specific case.
Yes. Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) caps staircasing at 75% regardless of DPA status, and once you own 75% you stop paying rent on the remaining share. DPA restrictions can apply on top of that.
No to both. DPA Check is a free independent tool built by Tally Digital that reads the published legislation and the official Homes England map catalogue. It gives indicative guidance only. Your individual lease and the official map decide your case — always confirm there and take professional advice.
Longer explanations live in the guides — including what a DPA is, the 80% staircasing cap, and Section 106 restrictions. The How it works page sets out the method and data sources in full.
This is a free service, and your feedback genuinely helps us improve it — whether it’s an error you’ve spotted, something that was unclear, or anything else you’d like to tell us. Every message is read by a real person and is hugely appreciated.