Help to Buy has ended: Find your new home on Share to Buy

The Help to Buy equity loan closed to new applicants on October 31st, 2022.

The Help to Buy equity loan scheme closed to new applications on Monday 31st October 2022, with the scheme officially ending on Friday 31^st March 2023. Homes England confirmed that there will be no exceptions or extensions.

Find out more on Share to Buy or learn about Help to Buy alternatives including Shared Ownership and other home-buying and affordable rental options.

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

As of April 2021, maximum regional price caps were introduced for the equity loan. For example, a Help to Buy home in London couldn’t 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.

Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023. 

To reflect the higher property prices in the capital, Help to Buy was 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 was 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.

Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023. 

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

For example, you had to 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 were buying the property with another person, you both needed to be first time buyers to benefit from the equity loan – meaning neither of you had ever owned another property either in the UK or abroad.

Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023. 

With the Help to Buy equity loan, the government lent up to 20% of the cost of a newly built home, so you only needed a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan was subject to eligibility, terms and conditions.

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan was interest-free for the first five years of owning your home. After that, the purchaser paid 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.

Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023. 

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

Help to Buy was available on a variety of properties including cosy studios, stylish apartments and traditional family homes. Help to Buy may have ended, but there are still plenty of alternative housing schemes that can help first time buyers get on the property ladder. 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, buyers were previously able to refer to the Help to Buy Agent in their area.

Please note that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan officially ended in March 2023.