The UK Government runs a Help to Buy scheme, where you can access a loan from the government to use as equity for your first time house purchase. You can access the scheme through a Help To Buy Agent.
The Help To Buy (HTB) scheme allows you to borrow up to 20% of the property value from the government to use as part of your equity (up to 40% in London). It is very useful scheme for First Time Buyers, as you only need to have 5% of the house price saved up as a deposit. This is called the Help To Buy Equity Loan.
The Equity Loan scheme is administered by several Help To Buy Agents across England. Depending on where you’re looking to buy your property, you have to use an Agent responsible for your area, and not another agent.
Which Help To Buy Agent should I contact?
There are three main Help To Buy Agents for the different areas of England:
Agent 1 for North England
Agent 2 for The Midlands and London
Agent 3 for South England
Want to know which area you are in? See further below to identify your region and which HTB Agent area you fit in.
If you live in Scotland, there’s a different process, more information here.
If you live in Wales, there is also a different process, more information here.
If you’re unsure which of the three areas your property purchase falls in, below is a detailed breakdown of which Equity Loan agent you should contact for your specific county/area:
Yorkshire and the Humber – Help to Buy Agent 1 (North England)
- West Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire
- East Riding of Yorkshire
West Midlands – Help to Buy Agent 2 (West Midlands & London)
- Worcestershire
- West Midlands
- Warwickshire
- Staffordshire
- Shropshire
- Herefordshire
South West – Help to Buy Agent 3 (South England)
- Somerset
- Dorset
- Devon
- Cornwall
- Gloucestershire
- Bristol
- Wiltshire
South East – Help to Buy Agent 3 (South England)
- Berkshire
- Hampshire
- Isle Of Wight
- Oxfordshire
- Buckinghamshire
- East Sussex
- Kent
- Surrey
- West Sussex
- London – EXCEPTION! Use Equity Loan Agent 2
North West – Help to Buy Agent 1 (North England)
- Merseyside
- Lancashire
- Greater Manchester
- Cumbria
- Cheshire
North East – Help to Buy Agent 1 (North England)
- Durham
- Northumberland
- Tyne And Wear
East of England – Help to Buy Agent 3 (South England)
- Bedfordshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Norfolk
- Suffolk
East Midlands – Help to Buy Agent 1 (East Midlands & London)
- Derbyshire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Rutland