Is Help to Buy still available, and how does shared ownership work? FAQ

By FastBuySale Newsroom · 5 Nov 2026 · 24m ago

How does shared ownership work?

This Help to Buy and shared ownership FAQ answers the questions UK home buyers ask most. The short answer: the Help to Buy equity loan is no longer open to new buyers, and you can no longer open a Help to Buy ISA, but people who already have an equity loan still have to manage and repay it. Shared ownership is still available across the UK, letting eligible buyers purchase a share of a home and pay rent to a landlord on the rest.

official UK government guidance's affordable home ownership page lists the schemes that remain, including shared ownership (UK wide), discounted homes for first-time buyers in England, rent-to-save options for tenants in England, and loans for self-build or new-build homes in Scotland and Wales. It also notes that you can still open a Lifetime ISA to save for a first home.

According to official UK government guidance, you can buy a home through shared ownership if you cannot afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs. You buy a share between 10% and 75% of the home's full market value, pay rent to the landlord for the share they own, and usually pay monthly ground rent and service charges, for example towards maintaining communal areas.

The share you can buy is usually between 25% and 75%, and some homes allow a 10% share. You can use a mortgage or savings to buy your share, and you'll usually need a deposit of between 5% and 10% of the share you're buying, not of the whole property value.

You can buy a new-build home, an existing home through a shared ownership resale scheme, or a home that meets specific needs if you have a long-term disability. Homes are offered by housing associations, local councils and other organisations, called providers. All shared ownership homes, both houses and flats, are leasehold properties, so read the lease carefully.

Rules differ in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, so check the scheme for the nation where you want to buy. Our can help you estimate monthly repayments on the share you plan to buy.

Readers evaluating Help to Buy and shared ownership should separate marketing claims from the actual rule text that governs their account or product. When two summaries disagree, the governing document or statute wins. If a rule depends on your age, filing status, or income band, re-check it when any of those facts change. Life events quietly move people across thresholds they last reviewed years earlier.

Who can apply for shared ownership?

official UK government guidance says both of the following must be true: your household income is £80,000 a year or less (£90,000 a year or less in London), and you cannot afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs.

One of these must also be true: you're a first-time buyer; you used to own a home but cannot afford to buy one now; you're forming a new household, for example after a relationship breakdown; you're an existing shared owner who wants to move; or you own a home and want to move but cannot afford a new home that meets your needs. Some homes also require a local connection through where you live or work.

If you already own a home, you must have formally accepted an offer for its sale and have a memorandum of sale, and you must complete that sale on or before the date you complete on the shared ownership home.

There are special routes too. If you're 55 or over, the Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme lets you buy up to a 75% share, and once you own 75% you will not pay rent on the rest. Home ownership for people with a long-term disability (HOLD) helps if other scheme properties don't meet your needs, and offers from serving members of the armed forces are prioritised.

A useful habit is to write down your goal, time horizon, and cash buffer before you change any election related to Help to Buy and shared ownership. Decisions made during a stressful week are the ones people reverse later at a cost. Educational explainers like this one cannot replace personalized advice for complex situations such as divorce orders, inherited accounts, or cross-border tax residency. Escalate those cases to a qualified professional.

What is staircasing?

Staircasing means buying more shares in your home over time. official UK government guidance explains that if you buy more shares, you'll pay less rent, because the rent you pay is based on the landlord's share.

Each time you staircase, the price of the extra share is based on the home's value at that time, not the price when you first bought. If prices have risen, more shares cost more; if they've fallen, they may cost less. You'll also usually pay valuation and legal costs, so it's worth budgeting for these alongside the share price.

Before staircasing, compare the extra mortgage cost with the rent you'd save. Our can help you compare borrowing options, and the shows how rising prices change the real value of money over time.

Check your lease for staircasing rules, such as minimum share sizes and whether you can eventually own 100% of the home. Some homes in certain rural areas have limits on how much you can own.

Keep digital and paper copies of confirmations after every change. Screenshots of election pages, email receipts, and year-end statements make tax season and job changes far less chaotic. Compare fees the same way you would compare two similar listings before you buy: look at what you pay each year, what you get, and whether a simpler option meets the same need.

I have a Help to Buy equity loan. What do I pay and when must I repay it?

official UK government guidance's repayment guide says the Help to Buy equity loan helped people buy by borrowing up to 20% of the purchase price (40% in London), secured against the home's future market value. You pay a £1 monthly management fee from the start of the loan until it is repaid in full.

There is no interest for the first five years. From the fifth anniversary (the start of year 6), you pay interest monthly at 1.75%, and the rate then rises every April by inflation. For loans from 2013 to 2021 the increase is linked to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 1%; for loans from 2021 to 2023 it is the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) plus 2%. Interest payments do not reduce the amount you owe.

You must repay the loan in full when the term ends (normally 25 years unless extended), when you sell your home, if you pay off your repayment mortgage without replacing it, or in some other cases such as bankruptcy. You can't make regular monthly repayments, but you can repay in full or make part repayments of at least 10% of your home's current market value at any time. There are no early repayment charges, though administration and professional fees apply.

The amount you repay is a percentage of the home's value, not the original loan in pounds. If you borrowed 20%, you repay 20% of the market value or sale price, whichever is higher, as worked out by a RICS valuation. So if your home has risen in value, you'll repay more than you borrowed. Weigh this against the rising interest, and consider independent financial advice before remortgaging to repay.

Next steps: check your loan type, your current interest rate and your options in your Homes England account, and read more home guides at

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