What deposit do I need for Help to Buy, Wales?

Help to Buy, Wales asks for a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price. On a £200,000 new build that is £10,000. The Welsh Government then provides an equity loan of up to 20% of the property value, and you take out a repayment mortgage for the remaining 75%¹.

The scheme is a shared equity loan for people buying a new-build home in Wales. It has been running since January 2014, and applications must be submitted by 31 March 2027¹. The property must be a new build with a maximum price of £300,000, bought from a builder registered with the scheme¹.

Most people who use it put down the minimum. Around two thirds (64%) of all recipients of Help to Buy, Wales shared equity loans have provided the minimum 5% deposit, and 84% have provided a deposit of 10% or less⁴. The deposit is a floor, not a fixed amount, so a larger one is allowed.

Minimum deposit: 5% of the purchase price

The deposit rule is the same across the official guidance and the independent checks: a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price, and the ability to fund at least 80% of the property price through a combination of a repayment mortgage and that deposit¹. The scheme's own buyer guide puts it as funding up to 80% of your selected property through a conventional repayment mortgage and a minimum cash deposit of 5%⁷.

The 5% is a minimum, and the evidence shows most buyers stay at or near it. Around two thirds (64%) of all recipients have provided the minimum 5% deposit since the scheme began, and 65% of those who have received a shared equity loan provided a 5% deposit, which the Home Builders Federation puts at 9,186 households⁴. A further group, 11,863 households or 84% of recipients, provided a deposit of 10% or less⁴.

Putting down more than 5% reduces the mortgage you need, but it does not increase the equity loan, which is capped at 20% of the property value². Anything above the deposit plus the equity loan comes from your own funds or a larger mortgage. The scheme does not set a maximum deposit.

The deposit is only one of the costs of buying. Stamp Duty Land Tax, or Land Transaction Tax in Wales, valuation fees, searches and conveyancing all sit alongside it, and the Welsh Government's own worked example for a £200,000 purchase shows a £140,000 contribution from the buyer and £60,000 from the scheme⁸.

How the deposit, equity loan and mortgage fit together

Help to Buy, Wales is an equity mortgage from the Welsh Government that you put towards the cost of buying a newly built home⁹. It is not a grant and not a discount: it is a loan secured on the property, and the Welsh Government takes a share of the home's value in return.

The three parts work like this. Your deposit is at least 5% of the purchase price. The equity loan is up to 20% of the property value. The remaining balance is financed through a mortgage which must not be in excess of 4.5 times the applicant's household income⁵. On a £200,000 home, that is a £10,000 deposit at the minimum, a £40,000 equity loan, and a £140,000 mortgage.

Because the loan is a share of the property rather than a fixed sum, what you repay moves with the market. If you received 20% of the initial purchase price through Help to Buy, Wales, the amount you have to repay is 20% of either the current market value or the sale price, whichever is higher⁹. If the home rises in value, so does the amount you owe, even though you borrowed a percentage rather than a cash sum.

The scheme also allows additional borrowing for alterations, worked out as the original contribution (mortgage plus deposit) plus the overall increase in property value, multiplied by your percentage times 75%¹⁰. That is a formula for a specific purpose, not a general top-up, and it applies only where the scheme permits it.

Who can use Help to Buy, Wales and on which homes

Support is available to all home buyers, not just first-time buyers, who wish to purchase a new home but may be constrained in doing so¹¹. That is a wider group than many people assume. The scheme is open to anyone living in Wales, whether individuals, couples or families².

The conditions on the property are tighter than the conditions on the buyer:

• The home must be a new build, bought from a builder registered with the scheme¹.
• The maximum price is £300,000¹.
• You must be able to fund at least 80% of the property price through a repayment mortgage and a minimum 5% deposit¹.
• The remaining mortgage must not exceed 4.5 times your household income⁵.

The £300,000 cap has moved. It was reduced from £300,000 to £250,000 for phase three from April 2021, then rose back to £300,000 under the December 2022 extension⁴. Independent guidance also describes the scheme as covering new build homes under £300,000¹². If you are looking at a home close to the cap, confirm the current figure with the scheme before you reserve, because a change in the cap changes which homes qualify.

For context on what £300,000 buys, the average property value in Wales was £215,000 in July 2026, after an annual price increase of 2.6%¹³. The cap therefore sits above the average Welsh home, but the scheme applies only to new builds, which are a smaller part of the market.

Applying before the scheme closes

Applications for Help to Buy, Wales must be submitted by 31 March 2027¹. That date appears on the official eligibility and complaints pages, and it is the deadline to work to.

There is a conflict in the published material that is worth knowing about. Some pages still state that the scheme will run until September 2026, and the Home Builders Federation records that in December 2022 the scheme was extended to March 2025⁴. The scheme has been extended more than once, and the 31 March 2027 date is the later and more specific of the official statements. Anyone planning to use it should treat 31 March 2027 as the application deadline and allow time for reservation, mortgage approval and conveyancing before it.

The scheme has been active for more than a decade. Since its inception on 2 January 2014 to 30 September 2025, there have been 15,043 completions under Help to Buy Wales³. Between 1 July and 30 September 2025, 83 property purchases were completed using a Welsh Government Help to Buy Wales shared equity loan³. The scheme has helped more than 14,000 households achieve homeownership since its launch in January 2014¹⁶.

To apply, you visit GOV.WALES for full details and to apply for Help to Buy, Wales². One step catches people out: applicants must use a solicitor or conveyancer who has undertaken Help to Buy, Wales training, and to access a loan you must instruct a conveyancer listed on the scheme's website¹⁷. The scheme is managed by Help to Buy Wales Ltd on behalf of the Welsh Government¹⁴. A firm outside that list cannot complete the purchase with a Help to Buy loan.

Repaying the equity loan and what happens if you fall behind

There is no interest on the equity loan for the first five years, which the scheme describes as reducing financial pressure while you settle into your new home². Pay back your entire loan within the first five years and you will pay zero interest². After that, interest applies, and the monthly cost of the loan changes.

Repaying early is possible. You can repay the loan before you sell your home, in which case you repay based on the value of your home at that time⁸. The amount is a percentage of value, not the cash you originally borrowed, so early repayment in a rising market costs more than the original loan and in a falling market costs less.

If you fall behind, the consequences are specific. Missed payments still have to be paid back when you come to repay your Equity Mortgage¹⁸. The scheme does not write off arrears. When an account falls into arrears and the customer is experiencing financial difficulties, the scheme will refer them to a source of free and independent debt advice¹⁹.

The wider picture on arrears is worth stating plainly. A mortgage in arrears is a debt secured on your home, and the lender can ultimately seek possession. Free help exists before that point, and the scheme's own policy is to signpost customers to it. Independent guidance on mortgage arrears sets out the steps and the protections available²¹.

Where to get help and how to complain

Help to Buy Wales Ltd manages the scheme on behalf of the Welsh Government, and it has a published complaints route¹⁴. If something goes wrong with the loan, the arrears process or the way your application was handled, that is the first place to raise it.

Beyond the scheme, free and impartial help is available. Shelter Cymru's specialist debt advisers offer free, confidential, face-to-face help at several locations in Wales²⁰. PayPlan is the agency the scheme works with most closely, and any free debt advice agency is acceptable¹⁸. Citizens Advice also covers the buying process and what to check before you commit¹².

If you are comparing your options rather than committing to one, the wider picture matters. Help to Buy, Wales is one of several routes for buyers who cannot fund a purchase entirely from a deposit and mortgage, and the alternatives work differently: some involve renting a share, some involve buying a share outright, and some are not available in Wales at all. The first-time buyer schemes guide sets out what operates in each nation, and Shared Ownership, Homebuy and Rent to Own in Wales covers the Welsh alternatives. If you are weighing Help to Buy, Wales against Shared Ownership specifically, the comparison sets the two side by side.