No – Help to Buy is only available on developments where Homes England have a registration agreement with the housebuilder. While both houses and apartments are available with the government-backed scheme, the equity loan is only available on new build properties and cannot be used to purchase resale homes.

As of April 2021, maximum regional price caps were also introduced for the equity loan. For example, a Help to Buy home in London cannot exceed a full purchase price of £600,000, £437,600 in the South East, or £261,900 in the East Midlands. You can view a full list of regional breakdowns on Share to Buy.

To reflect the higher property prices in the capital, Help to Buy is slightly different in London.

The government increased the upper limit for the equity loan from 20% to 40%, enabling buyers to get a foot on the property ladder within Greater London. The buyer is still only required to raise a 5% deposit, with a 55% mortgage making up the rest. You can find out more about London Help to Buy on Share to Buy.

As a home-buying product aimed at helping those who can’t afford to purchase a property on the open market, there are certain requirements that buyers will need to meet to be considered eligible for Help to Buy.

For example, you must be 18 years or older, have at least a 5% deposit of the full purchase price of the property, and must be a first time buyer. If you are buying the property with another person, you will both need to be first time buyers to benefit from the equity loan – meaning neither of you have ever owned another property either in the UK or abroad.

With the Help to Buy equity loan, the government lends you up to 20% of the cost of your newly built home, so you’ll only need a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan is subject to eligibility, terms and conditions.

The Help to Buy equity loan is interest-free for the first five years of owning your home. After that, the purchaser pays an annual fee of 1.75% on the amount of the outstanding loan, however this fee will increase each year by inflation. You can find out more about these costs on Share to Buy.

Share to Buy lists thousands of first time buyer homes across the country – including new build properties available through the Help to Buy scheme.

Help to Buy is available on a variety of properties including cosy studios, stylish apartments and traditional family homes. Check out our property search tool to start looking for your new home today!

For further information about the home-buying and application process with the Help to Buy: Equity Loan, please refer to the Help to Buy Agent in your area.