Help To Buy is changing – are you ready?

The Help to Buy scheme is changing in Spring 2021, with only first-time buyers being eligible to use the scheme and the current HTB plan due to end completely by 2023. 

If you’d like to know more on how these changes will affect your business and how we can help you register, please get in touch.

“Homes England has outlined the first steps for home builders wishing to apply to participate in the new Help to Buy scheme which will open in April 2021 and run until March 2023.

Developers registered under the current Help to Buy scheme should have received a communication from Homes England but all relevant documents are available here. These set out the steps necessary to register for the new scheme, the new Funding Administration Agreement (FAA) and the relevant Developer participation and registration rules.

It is advisable to consider the documentation and respond to Homes England as quickly as possible. Homes England states that the fourth and final stage of registration for home builders will not take place until ‘mid-October to December’ and until a developer is through this stage they will not be able to take reservations under the new scheme.

Homes England make it clear that builders cannot participate in the new scheme, market, or offer it to customers until they are fully in contract with Homes England under the new Help to Buy 2021-23 Funding Administration Agreement. Home builders that do not comply with this will have their registration applications rejected.

The new developer participation and registration guidance is a more comprehensive document than has been seen in the past with some significant changes, many of which have been trailed in previous announcements by the Government, including in comments made by the Housing Secretary in February 2020. This is covered in more detail below but will mean:

• Stricter rules on Building Regulations to ensure that new homes are built to current standards 
• Compliance with the New Homes Ombudsman 
• Publication of HBF customer satisfaction star ratings where these are available 
• Pre-completion viewings should be available for purchasers “

Do you need help registering for the new Help To Buy scheme? We need to ensure you are ready to market your development for 2021. Call us today and discuss your Help to Buy options with one of our dedicated team.