Your First Home scheme: questions and answers

A government equity loan scheme for first-time buyers in England, announced on 26 September 2026. You put down a deposit of at least 2.5%, the government lends 20% of the price as an equity loan, and a mortgage covers the other 77.5%. It is for new-build homes from developers signed up to the scheme.

The full details are due at the Budget on 28 October 2026, and pre-registration is expected to open by the end of 2026. No date has been announced for the first purchases.

First-time buyers in England buying a new-build home from a participating developer. There will be a household income cap and local property price caps, but the figures have not been published yet.

Local price caps will apply, with figures due at the Budget. Some outlets have reported a £600,000 maximum, but that figure is not in the government announcement, so treat it as unconfirmed.

At first. The government says there will be an initial interest-free period but has not said how long it lasts or what you pay afterwards. Help to Buy loans were interest-free for five years, then charged 1.75% a year of the amount borrowed, rising every April.

The repayment rules have not been published. Under Help to Buy you repaid the same percentage of the home's value as you borrowed, so a 20% loan meant repaying 20% of what the home was worth when you repaid or sold, not the original amount.

No. The scheme as announced is only for new-build homes from developers that sign up to it.

The announcement is for England. Wales runs its own Help to Buy - Wales scheme, with applications due by 31 March 2027, and Scotland has its own shared equity schemes.

It is similar: both are government equity loans on new builds. The announced differences are a 2.5% deposit instead of 5%, first-time buyers only with a household income cap, local price caps, and developers contributing to the cost. England's Help to Buy closed to new applications on 31 October 2022.

It depends on the price, the rate and the term. For example, a £230,000 home with a 2.5% deposit and 20% equity loan needs a £178,250 mortgage, which at 4.5% over 30 years is about £903 a month. Our calculator works it out for your numbers.

No. Pre-registration is expected by the end of 2026, and where it will happen has not been announced. Any site asking you to register or pay for the scheme today is not the government's registration.

No. Equity Loan Scheme Guide is an independent website. We are not the government, Homes England, a developer or a lender, and we are not an official source. We explain the scheme using the sources we link to, and nothing here is financial advice.

Not confirmed. A Lifetime ISA can go towards a first home costing up to £450,000, but whether it can be combined with Your First Home has not been announced.