Buying a home in Wales
Check whether the property, builder, deposit and repayment mortgage meet Help to Buy – Wales rules. The Welsh application deadline is currently 31 March 2027.
HELP TO BUY MORTGAGES · ENGLAND AND WALES
Help to Buy means different things depending on where the home is. New equity-loan applications have closed in England. Help to Buy – Wales is still accepting eligible applications. Existing English borrowers may need help with a remortgage or repayment.
Free initial consultation. Any fee for further work depends on your case and is explained before chargeable work begins.
Buying in Wales and managing an existing English equity loan involve different rules. Start with the route below that matches your situation.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Start with the location of the property and whether you already have an equity loan. That determines which guidance to read next.
Check whether the property, builder, deposit and repayment mortgage meet Help to Buy – Wales rules. The Welsh application deadline is currently 31 March 2027.
Your equity loan continues even though the English scheme is closed to new buyers. Review the cost of keeping it and the steps for remortgaging or repayment.
You cannot start an English or Scottish Help to Buy equity loan. Other schemes and low-deposit mortgages have different rules.
As checked on 1 October 2026. The English closure is confirmed by GOV.UK; the Welsh deadline is confirmed by the Welsh Government. Scheme rules may change, so check again before committing to a property.
A NEW PURCHASE IN WALES
You put down a deposit, the Welsh Government takes an equity stake of up to 20% through an equity mortgage, and a qualifying lender provides a first-charge repayment mortgage for the remainder. The equity stake is a loan secured on the home, not a gift or a discount.
First-time buyers and eligible home movers may use the scheme. Check the full Welsh eligibility guidance and current qualifying lenders for your case. Lender approval is a separate decision.
The remainder is met by a qualifying repayment mortgage. The Welsh Government currently requires applications to be submitted by 31 March 2027; a reservation alone is not a submitted application.
Work out your available deposit, regular commitments and comfortable monthly payment. Gather income and deposit evidence; see the mortgage document checklist. If you are self-employed, have a gifted deposit or have had credit difficulties, raise this early because lender criteria vary.
Read the Welsh Government’s Buyers Guide, confirm that the new-build and builder are registered and ask about reservation terms. Avoid relying on a generic mortgage estimate before the property and scheme rules are checked.
Use a Help to Buy – Wales trained conveyancer. Submit the Welsh scheme application by the stated deadline and obtain a separate mortgage assessment from a qualifying lender. An agreement in principle is only an early indication, not a final offer.
Ask your conveyancer to explain the equity agreement, restrictions, future repayment and any Land Transaction Tax. Compare the mortgage illustration, ongoing property costs and what happens if you sell, remortgage or repay the equity stake.
Read the Welsh Government’s current application steps. For transaction tax, see our UK first-time buyer property tax guide; Wales uses Land Transaction Tax, not Stamp Duty Land Tax.
YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ENGLISH EQUITY LOAN
The closure of new English applications does not remove an existing loan. You still owe the equity percentage under your agreement. The amount needed to repay it depends on the relevant property value at the time, so it can rise or fall.
The English scheme’s interest increase differs by loan version: 2013–21 loans and 2021–23 loans have different inflation-linked terms. Check your own agreement and current GOV.UK loan guidance rather than using a generic online calculation.
See our Help to Buy remortgage guidance if you are weighing up these choices.
A smaller repayment mortgage can help with the initial purchase, but the equity stake has its own long-term cost. In Wales, read the current repayment guidance and your agreement for the timing, valuation and charges. In England, check the version of your existing agreement before deciding to keep or repay the loan.
For a Welsh purchase, compare a scheme home with a non-scheme home you can afford: price, deposit, mortgage payment, equity obligation, possible service charge, repairs, insurance and Land Transaction Tax. A lender’s borrowing figure is not a household budget.
No. The English Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme is closed to new applications. If you already have an English equity loan, its repayment and remortgage rules still matter. Other homeownership routes may be available for a new purchase.
No. Eligible home movers can also apply. The Welsh scheme is for a qualifying home from a registered builder, subject to its ownership, property, deposit and mortgage rules.
You need a minimum deposit of 5% of the purchase price. The Welsh equity mortgage can cover up to 20%, and the balance must be funded through a qualifying first-charge repayment mortgage and your deposit. A lender will still assess affordability.
The current Welsh Government guidance says applications must be submitted by 31 March 2027. Check the official guidance before reserving a property, because scheme terms and deadlines can change.
No. The equity stake remains repayable. Interest-free years do not cancel the loan: later charges and the amount owed depend on the scheme agreement and, for repayment, the property’s value.
Potentially. The route depends on whether you keep the equity loan, repay some or all of it, or want to borrow more. Check the scheme administrator’s process, valuation and fees alongside the new lender’s affordability and mortgage terms.
Tell us whether you are buying in Wales, managing an existing English equity loan or looking for a different first-home route. We can review your deposit, income, commitments and timing, explain mortgage options we can advise on, and tell you what further evidence or provider checks are needed. We will be clear if a particular scheme or lender falls outside the options we can arrange.
For general first-purchase planning, visit first-time buyer mortgage advice. If you are considering other support, compare current homeownership schemes. You can learn about the Count Ready adviser before contacting us.
Reviewed 1 October 2026. General information, not a personal mortgage recommendation. Recheck official Welsh and English guidance, your agreement and your lender’s current criteria before making a financial commitment.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
