Your First Home, a new government equity loan for first-time buyers of new-build homes in England, works much as Help to Buy did, and has been announced but is not open yet. Until it opens, no single scheme replaces Help to Buy. It lent buyers part of the price of a new-build home, and today several schemes each cover part of what it did, from buying with a smaller deposit to buying a discounted home or a share of one. The schemes below are open now, each listed with its key rules in its primary source’s own words. None of them works the way Help to Buy did, so read each one’s rules before you plan around it.
Buyers who still hold one owe a share of the home’s value when they sell or repay, so the amount rises or falls with the market. Your First Home, a new equity loan for first-time buyers of new-build homes in England, works much as it did but is not open yet, so see what is open now and the rules of each.
Help to Buy: Equity Loan closed to new applications on 31 October 2022.
. Start date: the date the source states.
Help to Buy: Equity Loan 2021-2023 closed to new applications on 31 October 2022. Any transactions were to be completed by 31 March 2023, but a homebuilder could apply for an extension up to 31 May 2023 to allow purchasers to complete the buying process.
Announced with rules on record, but not taking applications yet.
Your First Home
Not open yet
Your First Home is a government equity loan for first-time buyers of new-build homes in England, announced in the autumn Budget. It is not open yet: the rules on record are what the government has published so far.
Your First Home is not open yet: applications are expected to open in February 2027, and its full rules come before then.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
The scheme is expected to open for applications in February 2027.
Your First Home Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Read on 31 Oct 2026. Checked against the source on 31 Oct 2026.
The home must be in England.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
buy a new-build home in England, within the relevant local price cap
Your First Home Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Read on 31 Oct 2026. Checked against the source on 31 Oct 2026.
The government lends 20% of the price, interest free for 5 years, then 1.5% in year 6 and 3% from year 7.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
a government equity loan worth 20% of the purchase price, interest free for 5 years
Your First Home Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Read on 31 Oct 2026. Checked against the source on 31 Oct 2026.
The deposit must be at least 2.5% of the price.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
a deposit of at least 2.5% of the purchase price
Your First Home Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Read on 31 Oct 2026. Checked against the source on 31 Oct 2026.
The home must cost no more than its council’s price cap, from £215,000 to £650,000; GOV.UK published the cap for each of England’s 296 councils on 3 November 2026.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
Each scheme with the rules that say who it is for, in its primary source's own words.
First Homes
Open
First Homes are new-build homes sold at a discount on their market value. The discount stays with the home, so each later buyer gets it too.
Every buyer must be a first-time buyer.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
A purchaser (or, if a joint purchase, all the purchasers) of a First Home should be a first-time buyer as defined in paragraph 6 of schedule 6ZA of the Finance Act 2003 for the purposes of Stamp Duty Relief for first-time buyers.
Combined household income in the previous tax year must not exceed £80,000, or £90,000 in Greater London.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
Purchasers of First Homes, whether individuals, couples or group purchasers, should have a combined annual household income not exceeding £80,000 (or £90,000 in Greater London) in the tax year immediately preceding the year of purchase.
A mortgage or home purchase plan must fund at least 50% of the discounted price.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
A purchaser of a First Home should have a mortgage or home purchase plan (if required to comply with Islamic law) to fund a minimum of 50% of the discounted purchase price.
The mortgage guarantee scheme is a government guarantee given to lenders, not to buyers. It encourages lenders to offer mortgages to people with a small deposit.
The mortgage must be more than 90% and at most 95% of the price, so the deposit is at least 5% and under 10%.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.
A Loan is not eligible under the Guarantee unless it is in the loan-to-value range of more than ninety per cent. (90%) and less than or equal to ninety-five per cent. (95%).
Own New Rate Reducer is a scheme where the builder puts money towards a lower mortgage interest rate instead of taking it off the price. The lower rate lasts for the initial period of the mortgage.
The home must be a new build from a participating builder.
. Start date: the source states no date, so this is the day we read it.
Find a participating new-build home.
Own New: questions Own New (scheme operator). Read on 21 Oct 2026. Checked against the source on 21 Oct 2026.
Shared ownership lets you buy a share of a home and pay rent on the share you do not own. You can usually buy more shares later, up to owning the whole home.
You must be a first-time buyer, a former owner, forming a new household, an existing shared owner, or an owner whose sale is agreed (sold subject to contract).
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was last updated.
you own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home that meets your needs