Last updated: 27 September 2026

What is the Your First Home scheme?

Your First Home is a new government scheme for first-time buyers in England. It was announced on 26 September 2026 and lets buyers purchase a new-build home with a 2.5% deposit, backed by a 20% government equity loan.

Full details will be set out by Chancellor John Healey at the Budget on 28 October 2026. This guide covers what has been confirmed so far and what is still to be published. We will update this page once the Budget details are out.

How the scheme works

The scheme combines three parts:

• Your deposit: 2.5% of the purchase price

• Government equity loan: 20% of the purchase price

• Your mortgage: the remaining 77.5%

The equity loan has an initial interest-free period. The length of that period has not yet been announced.

A worked example

On a new-build home priced at £200,000:

• Your deposit (2.5%): £5,000

• Government equity loan (20%): £40,000

• Your mortgage (77.5%): £155,000

Without the scheme, a 95% mortgage on the same home would need a £10,000 deposit and a £190,000 mortgage. The government says buyers using the scheme could save hundreds of pounds per month compared with a 95% mortgage. For other low-deposit routes available now, see our guide on buying your first home with £5,000 saved.

Who can use it?

Based on the announcement, the scheme is for:

• First-time buyers

• Buying a new-build home

• From a developer that has signed up to the scheme

• In England only

There will also be a household income cap and local property price caps. The figures for both are due at the Budget.

Developers will pay a fee to take part, linked to property values. The government says this will help cover the running costs of the scheme, which is funded by reprioritising existing government budgets.

What has not been published yet

The following details are still to come:

• The household income cap

• The local property price caps

• How long the interest-free period lasts, and the rate or fees charged after it

• How and when the equity loan is repaid

• Which lenders will offer mortgages under the scheme, and their criteria

• The start date for completions

Pre-registration is due to open by the end of 2026.

How it compares with Help to Buy

Your First Home follows the structure of the Help to Buy equity loan, which closed to new applications in 2023.

Deposit

Help to Buy needed a minimum 5% deposit. Your First Home halves that to 2.5%.

Equity loan

Help to Buy lent 20%, or 40% in London. Your First Home lends 20%, with no London uplift announced.

Income and price caps

Help to Buy had regional property price caps and no income cap. Your First Home will have local property price caps and a household income cap, with the levels to be confirmed.

Interest-free period

Help to Buy was interest-free for the first five years. The interest-free period under Your First Home has not yet been set.

If you already have a Help to Buy equity loan, our guide on how to buy out your Help to Buy equity loan covers how the old scheme's fees work and your options for repaying it.

What you can do now

The scheme details are not final, but the mortgage side of a purchase can be looked at now.

Check what you could borrow

Under the scheme, your mortgage would cover 77.5% of the purchase price. Our how much can I borrow page explains how lenders work out affordability, and our mortgage repayment calculator shows monthly payments at different loan sizes.

Understand the full costs

A 2.5% deposit is not the only cost of buying. Legal fees, surveys and other charges still apply. Our guide to first-time buyer costs sets these out, and the stamp duty calculator includes first-time buyer relief.

Get a mortgage in principle

A mortgage in principle gives you an indication of what a lender may offer before you commit to a property.

Review your credit file

Lenders will still assess your credit history. Our guide to credit scores and mortgages covers what they look at.

Speak to a whole-of-market broker

The lenders taking part and their criteria have not yet been named. As an independent, whole-of-market broker with access to over 90 lenders, Aspect Mortgages can compare the lenders taking part and match you to the right one.

Visit our first-time buyer mortgage page for more on how we help first-time buyers.

Register your interest in the Your First Home scheme and we will contact you when the full details are confirmed at the Budget on 28 October.