New Help to Buy scheme set to be introduced from April 2021

Launched in 2013, the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme has enabled thousands of people to purchase a new build home with only a small deposit, with up to 20% of the property sale price covered by a government loan, or 40% in London. To date, over 270,000 homes have been purchased using the scheme, including over 24,000 properties in the capital.

The current scheme allows both first-time buyers and homeowners to benefit, however from April 2021 it will be changing. The launch of the new scheme will result in just first-time buyers being able to apply for the loan, which must be used towards buying a new-build home. The new scheme will also introduce regional price limits.

Do the changes limit the amount of money I can borrow?

First-time buyers will still be able to borrow up to 20% (40% in London) of the cost of a newly built home. The buyer will have to pay a minimum of 5% deposit for the home and then use a help to buy mortgage to fund the remaining cost of the property. The loan is interest-free for the first five years and then interest fees will be added in the years after that period.

What are the regional price limits?

Another new change in the scheme involves the introduction of regional price caps. This means that homes eligible for the scheme will have to be priced below the maximum amounts for each region.

Region

Price cap for Help to Buy
homes April 2021 to March 2023

North East

£186,100

North West

£224,400

Yorkshire and The Humber

£228,100

East Midlands

£261,900

West Midlands

£255,600

East of England

£407,000

London

£600,000

South East

£437,000

South West

£349,000