Help to Stay Wales: who qualifies and how to apply

If you own your home in Wales and are struggling to pay your mortgage, Help to Stay Wales is a shared equity loan designed to make your monthly payments more affordable and help you stay in your home. The Welsh Government scheme offers free financial advice alongside the loan, and no repayments are required for the first five years¹.

The scheme is for eligible Welsh homeowners who are struggling to pay their existing mortgage or at risk of falling behind with it¹. It is not a scheme for buying a home. It is for people who already own one and are finding the payments hard. The loan is secured against your home as a charge on the property, and it works alongside the support your mortgage lender offers, in line with the UK Mortgage Charter¹.

Wales has around 3,187,000 residents, and the average property value was £215,000 in July 2026, up 2.6% over the year³. Average monthly rent in Wales was £836 in May 2026, up 4.7% from a year earlier⁵. For homeowners facing payment difficulty, Help to Stay Wales is one of the options available, alongside support from your lender and free debt advice.

Help to Stay Wales: an equity loan to keep you in your home

Help to Stay Wales offers a shared equity loan, which is secured against your home². The support is in the form of a shared equity loan, and it can be used to help cover your mortgage costs². The scheme also gives you access to free financial advice, so you can look at your whole financial situation, not just the mortgage¹.

The loan is used to reduce your mortgage borrowing, and no payments are made to the loan for the first five years⁶. That means the money goes towards making your monthly mortgage payments more affordable, rather than replacing your mortgage entirely¹.

This is different from schemes that help you buy a home. Homebuy Wales, for example, provides an equity loan to assist with purchasing an existing property⁷. Help to Buy Wales is for buying a new-build property⁶. Help to Stay Wales is for people who already have a mortgage and are struggling with it.

The scheme is for homeowners in Wales. The property must be in Wales⁶. If you are having or facing difficulty making mortgage payments, the Help to Stay scheme might be able to provide financial support⁸.

Who qualifies for Help to Stay Wales

The scheme is for eligible homeowners in Wales who are struggling to pay, or are at risk of falling behind with, their mortgage¹. You may qualify if you are having or facing difficulty making mortgage payments⁸.

There are conditions on the property and your circumstances:

• The property must be in Wales⁶.
• It must be your only or main home. You cannot apply if you own or part-own any other property¹.
• There must not be other secured debts on the property, except the mortgage from your primary lender².
• You must contact a free debt advice agency, which will assess your financial circumstances and provide you with a debt solution plan to send with your application².

The scheme is aimed at people who are struggling or at risk of falling behind, so you do not necessarily have to have missed a payment already. If you are facing difficulty, the scheme might be able to help⁸.

How the loan works: no payments for the first five years

No repayments are required for the first five years, and no interest is charged during years one to five¹. The loan is registered as a charge on your property⁴. You do not need to start paying back the loan for five years because interest is not applied during this period².

After the first five years, interest starts to apply and you begin repaying the loan. The scheme's own guidance sets out the structure: years one to five carry no interest⁴.

The loan is used to reduce your mortgage borrowing, which is how it makes your monthly payments more affordable⁶. Because it is a shared equity loan, it is secured against your home, so it affects what you owe on the property overall.

Help to Stay alongside your mortgage lender's support

Help to Stay Wales aims to work alongside the support offered by your mortgage lender and in line with the UK Mortgage Charter¹. That means it is not a replacement for talking to your lender. It is designed to sit alongside whatever support your lender can offer.

Written consent from your existing mortgage lender is needed before the equity loan can be put in place, because their permission is required⁴. So your lender is involved in the process from the start.

The scheme is for homeowners in Wales who are struggling with mortgage payments¹⁰. In Wales, if you are struggling to pay your mortgage, you may qualify for the Help to Stay scheme¹¹.

If you are behind with payments, there is other help too. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is a separate form of help, and free debt advice is available. The scheme itself requires you to get a debt solution plan from a free debt advice agency².

How to apply through the Development Bank of Wales

The scheme is delivered by the Development Bank of Wales, which supports the delivery of the scheme⁴. To apply, you must complete and submit the Help to Stay Wales application form, after reading and following the guidance in the Help to Stay Wales: guidance for applicants, and ensuring that all the registered owners of your home have signed the application form¹.

The steps are:

1. Read the Help to Stay Wales guidance for applicants¹.
2. Contact a free debt advice agency, which will assess your financial circumstances and provide you with a debt solution plan².
3. Contact your lender, since written consent from your existing mortgage lender is needed before the equity loan can be put in place⁴.
4. Complete and submit the application form, with all registered owners signing it¹.
5. Send your debt solution plan and household budget with your application².

If you have concerns or sensitivities you would rather not raise directly, you can raise them confidentially with the Development Bank of Wales, which supports the delivery of the scheme, by contacting their General Counsel¹².

Is Help to Stay Wales available in England or Scotland?

No. Help to Stay Wales is for homeowners in Wales, and the property must be in Wales⁶. In Wales, you may qualify for the Help to Stay scheme if you are struggling to pay your mortgage¹⁰.

If you live in England or Scotland, different advice applies. Guidance for Scotland notes that different advice is needed if you live in England and Wales¹³. Guidance covering England and Wales notes that different advice is needed if you live in Scotland¹⁴. In Scotland, the Home Owners' Support Fund is a separate scheme.

So the scheme is territorial: it is for Welsh homeowners with a property in Wales⁶. If you are outside Wales, contact your local authority or a free debt advice service to find out what help is available where you are.

Is Help to Stay Wales the same as Help to Buy Wales?

No. They are different schemes with different purposes.

Help to Buy Wales is for buying a new-build property⁶. Applications for Help to Buy Wales close on 31 March 2027¹⁰.

Help to Stay Wales is for people who already own their home and are struggling with the mortgage¹. It offers a shared equity loan to help make your monthly mortgage payments more affordable¹.

There is also Homebuy Wales, which provides an equity loan to assist with purchasing an existing property⁷. And Rent to Own Wales is a separate scheme where you contact a participating landlord in your local area for more information¹⁵.

Where to get free help

Free, impartial help is available if you are struggling with your mortgage. A free debt advice agency will assess your financial circumstances and provide you with a debt solution plan, which you need for the Help to Stay Wales application².

Shelter Cymru provides housing advice on mortgages and arrears². National Debtline offers guidance if you are worried about losing your home¹³. Business Debtline covers mortgage arrears and cost of living help³. Independent Age provides advice if you are at risk of losing your home or having problems paying your mortgage¹⁰.

The scheme itself is delivered by the Development Bank of Wales⁴. If you have concerns you would rather not raise directly, you can contact them confidentially through their General Counsel¹².