Help to Buy Is Gone: What First-Time Buyer Schemes Exist in 2026

The short answer

Help to Buy's equity loan scheme closed to new applications in England on 31 October 2022, and anyone who had already reserved a home had until 31 May 2023 to legally complete. For almost four years there was no direct government replacement — just a patchwork of builder incentives and lender products. That changed on 26 September 2026, when the government announced Your First Home, a scheme that looks a lot like Help to Buy's return: a smaller cash deposit paired with a government equity loan on new-build homes. It isn't live yet, and several important details are still pending the Budget on 28 October 2026, so this guide covers both that announcement and everything else that's actually running today: Own New - Rate Reducer, Deposit Unlock, Nationwide's Helping Hand, Freedom to Buy, Shared Ownership and First Homes.

Why Help to Buy still comes up

Help to Buy launched in 2013 and let eligible first-time buyers put down a 5% deposit on a new-build home, with the government lending a further 20% (40% in London) interest-free for the first five years, repayable when you sold or remortgaged. If you already have a Help to Buy loan, it still runs exactly as it always has — interest starts in year six, there's a £1 monthly management fee, and the loan is repaid, based on your home's current value rather than what you originally borrowed, when you sell, remortgage past the interest-free period, or after 25 years, whichever comes first. For anyone buying now, though, the original scheme itself is off the table — which is exactly the gap Your First Home has been designed to fill.

Your First Home: the closest thing to a Help to Buy revival

Announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on 26 September 2026, Your First Home would let first-time buyers purchase a new-build home with a cash deposit of just 2.5% of the purchase price, with the government providing an equity loan of up to 20% of the property's value on top, leaving a mortgage to cover the remainder. The equity loan is expected to carry an initial interest-free period, similar in spirit to Help to Buy's own five-year interest-free window, though the exact length hasn't been confirmed. A worked example reported by Estate Agent Today used a £230,000 new-build: a £5,750 deposit (2.5%), up to £46,000 in equity loan support (20%), and a mortgage for the rest. For comparison, a standard 95% mortgage today still needs a 5% cash deposit — roughly double what's being proposed here.

Confirmed so far: the scheme is for first-time buyers only, it covers new-build homes in England only, the deposit is 2.5%, and the equity loan is up to 20% with an initial interest-free period. Not yet confirmed: the household income cap and local property price caps that will determine who actually qualifies, the interest rate and repayment terms once the interest-free period ends, which developers and lenders are taking part, and the exact date applications or pre-registration open — industry reporting points to pre-registration by the end of 2026, but nothing is locked in. Chancellor John Healey is expected to confirm the remaining detail at the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026.

There's nothing to apply for yet. If you're currently saving towards a deposit, the sensible approach is to keep going on the basis of the schemes already available below, rather than pausing a purchase you can already afford in the hope of qualifying for a scheme whose rules aren't finalised.

Own New - Rate Reducer: builder-funded discounts on new-build mortgages

Own New - Rate Reducer isn't a deposit scheme — it's a way of using a builder's sales incentive to cut your mortgage rate instead of knocking money off the purchase price. Participating housebuilders contribute a lump sum, typically 3% to 5% of the purchase price, paid directly to your mortgage lender rather than to you. The lender uses that contribution to reduce your interest rate for an initial period, commonly two to five years, which lowers your monthly repayments while the discount lasts.

It's open to first-time buyers and existing homeowners alike, on new-build homes only, and you still need to pass a lender's normal affordability and deposit requirements — the scheme adjusts your rate, not your deposit size. Because the saving is funded by the builder as part of the sale rather than by the government, availability and the exact discount depend entirely on which plots and developments are taking part, so always check with a mortgage broker rather than assuming every new-build listing qualifies.

Deposit Unlock: a 5% deposit scheme that's closing

While it was running, Deposit Unlock let first-time buyers and existing homeowners buy a new-build home with just a 5% deposit (a 95% mortgage), through builders who had joined the scheme via the Home Builders Federation, Homes for Scotland or the Construction Employers Federation, with Bluestone Mortgages as the main participating lender. With the scheme closing to new completions, buyers who need a low deposit on a new build are better served looking at Own New's other low-deposit options, a lender's standard 95% LTV new-build range, or the Freedom to Buy-backed mortgages covered next.

Nationwide's Helping Hand (and similar lender income-boost mortgages)

Nationwide's Helping Hand tackles a different problem: not the deposit, but how much you're allowed to borrow relative to your income. Standard high-LTV mortgage lending is usually capped at around 4.5 times income, which locks many buyers out in expensive areas even with a reasonable deposit. Helping Hand lets eligible first-time buyers borrow up to 6 times their income at up to 95% loan-to-value — about a third more borrowing power than Nationwide's standard high-LTV lending.

This kind of high loan-to-income lending is tightly rationed: the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee caps how much of a lender's total new lending can go above 4.5 times income, so these products are often capacity-limited and can be paused or tightened without much notice. Nationwide isn't the only lender doing this — several high-street lenders now offer their own enhanced income-multiple products for first-time buyers — so it's worth asking a broker which lenders currently have capacity, rather than assuming Helping Hand is the only route. Because you're borrowing more relative to your income, weigh the bigger monthly commitment carefully against your budget, not just whether you can technically qualify.

Freedom to Buy: the mortgage guarantee scheme, made permanent

Freedom to Buy is the current name for the government's mortgage guarantee scheme, which started as a temporary measure in April 2021 and was made a permanent fixture of the mortgage market in July 2025. Under the scheme, the government guarantees part of a lender's losses if a low-deposit borrower defaults, which encourages lenders to keep offering mortgages above 90% loan-to-value — typically up to 95% — with a deposit of roughly 5% to 10%.

Unlike Help to Buy or Your First Home, Freedom to Buy isn't restricted to new-build homes or, strictly, to first-time buyers — though first-time buyers are its main audience in practice. To use it you need a repayment mortgage (not interest-only) on a residential property that will be your main home, and you'll go through the same affordability checks as any other mortgage applicant, subject to a cap on the property's value and the participating lender's own criteria. A growing number of high-street lenders now offer mortgages under the scheme, so it's worth comparing more than one before you commit.

Shared Ownership: buy a share, rent the rest

Shared Ownership lets you buy a percentage of a home — usually between 25% and 75% of its full market value, with some homes available from as little as 10% — and pay rent to a housing association on the share you don't own. You'll typically need a deposit of 5% to 10% of the share you're buying, not of the full property value, which is what makes it accessible with a smaller deposit than buying outright. As your finances improve you can buy further shares over time (known as staircasing), and your rent falls as your owned share grows.

It isn't limited to first-time buyers in every case, but it's primarily aimed at people who can't afford the deposit and mortgage for a home that meets their needs on the open market, including people with long-term disabilities who may need specifically adapted homes. Exact eligibility criteria, including any local income limits, are set by the housing association or local authority managing each scheme, so they can vary from one development to the next.

First Homes: discounted homes for local first-time buyers

First Homes are newly built homes sold to eligible first-time buyers at a discount of at least 30% below their open market value — some local areas require a 40% or 50% discount instead, where there's evidence of acute affordability need. After the discount is applied, the price is capped at £250,000 across England, or £420,000 in Greater London (local authorities can set a lower cap, but not a higher one). The discount is locked into the property's title, so it's passed on to the next eligible buyer when you eventually sell, keeping the home affordable for future first-time buyers too.

To qualify, you (and anyone buying with you) must be a first-time buyer, the home must be your only residence, and your combined household income must be no more than £80,000 a year (£90,000 in London). You'll also need a mortgage or home purchase plan covering at least half of the discounted price. Local councils can add further conditions for the first three months of marketing — such as a local connection requirement or priority for key workers — after which the scheme's national eligibility rules apply to anyone. More than 1,500 First Homes have been sold since the scheme launched in 2021, and more are being built, but availability depends entirely on which developments in your area include them, so check with builders or search for First Homes resales through a local estate agent.

What's available now vs what's still pending

The single most useful filter right now is simply: can you actually use this scheme today, or are you waiting on the Budget?

Should you wait, or buy now?

If a scheme that's live today already gets you into a home you can afford, there's little reason to pause and wait on a scheme whose eligibility rules haven't been set. If you're not quite there yet and have a few months of flexibility anyway, it's worth watching the Budget before committing.

Frequently asked questions

This guide is for general information and doesn't constitute financial or legal advice. Scheme rules, eligibility criteria and lender availability change frequently, and the Your First Home scheme in particular is not yet confirmed government policy beyond the headline details reported above — always check GOV.UK, the scheme provider or an FCA-regulated mortgage broker for the current position before making a decision.