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.
Buyers with a small deposit, within the band shown below, who will live in the home. It covers new-build and existing homes, for first-time buyers and movers alike.
You apply for a repayment mortgage in the usual way with a lender that takes part, and the lender decides whether to use the guarantee. If the home is later repossessed and sold at a loss, the government covers part of the lender’s loss, never the buyer’s.
It does not lower the price or give you money, and a smaller deposit means a larger loan and more interest over time. It cannot be used with shared ownership or shared equity, and the lender still makes its own checks on your income and credit history.
Each rule in its primary source's own words, with the date it applies from.
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%).
At least one buyer must intend to live in the home; it cannot be bought to let.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.at least one of those individuals intends to reside in the Property once it is purchased
The home cannot be bought through shared ownership or shared equity.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.(and not as part of a shared ownership or shared equity scheme)
The purchase must use a repayment mortgage, not interest only.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.the Loan is a repayment mortgage loan, and not interest only
The lender checks your credit history and that the mortgage is affordable for you.
. Start date: the source states no start date, so this is the day it was published.satisfied itself that the Borrower is not (or, where there is more than one Borrower, that none of the Borrowers are) credit-impaired
Answer what you know. Each rule is checked against your answers, and anything left blank shows as a fact the check still needs.
The mortgage must be more than 90% and at most 95% of the price, so the deposit is at least 5% and under 10%.
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%).
2025 Mortgage guarantee scheme rules HM Treasury, read 21 Oct 2026
This scheme has no local criteria.
As of 12 Nov 2026. Lenders, providers and councils make the final decision.