How the Help to Buy Equity Loan works

Help to Buy: Equity Loan is a loan from the government to put toward the cost of buying a new home .

Help to Buy aims to get first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

If you're eligible you can borrow up to 20% (40% in London) of the market value of a newly built home.

The equity loan is provided by Homes England, a government agency.

It's not a discount scheme or a price reduction, the cost of the home is the same without the equity loan.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan is only available on newly built homes.

You can only reserve a home offered through Help to Buy: Equity Loan with a registered homebuilder.

The amount you can spend on a home depends on where in England you buy.

There are regional maximum property price limits which you can find online.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan is secured against your home like a repayment mortgage.

You can only borrow an equity loan if you have a repayment mortgage.

You must pay a minimum 5% deposit to the cost of your new home.

The equity loan isn't interest free, but we don't charge interest for the first five years.

You pay interest on the equity loan from year six until you have paid off your equity loan.

To be eligible for the equity loan, you must be a first-time buyer.

You or anyone you live with - cannot have owned property before - must not have any form of Sharia mortgage.

Anyone who is: - married - in a civil partnership - living together at the time of completion must apply together.

Download the Help to Buy: Equity Loan Homebuyers' guide: gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-equity-loan-buyers-guide