The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants in England on 31 October 20221. The scheme had allowed buyers to purchase a new build home with a smaller deposit, supported by a government equity loan.
The closure is recorded in a Welsh Government statistical quality report covering the Help to Buy, Wales (Shared Equity Loan Scheme), which notes that the England scheme "closed to new applicants in England on 31 October 2022"1. The same report states that all Help to Buy schemes across the other UK countries have now closed, though other affordable home ownership schemes continue to operate1.
A mortgage broker page states that the government's Help to Buy scheme "closed for new applications on the 31st October 2022, and ended for all customers on the 31st March 2023"2.
The Welsh report sets out how the separate Welsh scheme has changed, including its maximum purchase price over time1:
| Date | Maximum purchase price |
|---|---|
| 2 January 2014 | £300,000 |
| 1 April 2021 | £250,000 |
| 1 April 2023 | £300,000 with a minimum of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) B |
The Welsh scheme was introduced on 2 January 2014 and is open to all home buyers, not only first-time buyers1. In December 2022 the Minister for Climate Change announced it would continue until March 2025, with homes sold through it needing to meet a minimum of EPC B and the purchase price cap rising from £250,000 to £300,0001. In December 2024 the decision was made to further extend the Help to Buy, Wales shared equity loan scheme to September 20261.
"closed to new applicants in England on 31 October 2022"
Why it matters for households
For anyone in England who had not had an application approved by 31 October 2022, the equity loan route to buying a new build home is no longer available1. The broker page states that buyers without an approved application are not eligible because the scheme is no longer available2.
The Welsh scheme remains open, with a £300,000 purchase price cap and a minimum EPC B requirement for homes sold through it, and a current end date of September 20261. The Welsh report notes that Help to Buy ended in England and Scotland in 22/23 and 21/22 respectively, and that the nations' shared equity schemes were developed uniquely to the need within each nation, making like-for-like comparison difficult1.
The Welsh report also records that the Help to Buy ISA closed to new customers in 2019, and that the Lifetime ISA launched in April 2017, allowing people under 40 to open one and contribute up to £4,000 in each tax year, with a 25% government bonus1.
What happens next
The Welsh scheme is scheduled to run until September 2026 following the December 2024 decision to extend it1. No further changes to the closed English scheme are set out in the sources.
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