Government help for first-time buyers
The lot of the first-time buyer is not a happy one for most of the time.
If you’ve struggled to find the necessary cash for a deposit, and all the sundry costs that come with getting the keys to your first home (survey, mortgage arrangement fees, removals, conveyancing and so on), you’ll know exactly how difficult the homebuying process can be.
Part of the problem is that house price inflation over the last few decades has far outpaced wage growth, which means the choice of property within your budget shrinks over time. Whereas people buying a home in the nineties could often manage on a mortgage of around three times their annual salary, lenders now regularly offer mortgages at higher multiples of earnings just to make prices workable.
Anyone selling a home to fund their next purchase will usually have built up equity along the way, lessening the amount they need to find. That’s a financial luxury first-time buyers simply don’t have. The good news is that the government runs a number of schemes designed to help with that first step on to the property ladder.
Stamp duty relief
Homebuyers in England, though not Wales, get some relief from stamp duty as first-time buyers. You’ll pay nothing on the first £300,000 of the purchase price, then 5% on the portion between £300,001 and £500,000. Anything above £500,000 and you’re treated as a standard purchaser, paying the full rate on the whole amount.
Homebuying and selling reforms
There are reforms in the pipeline to shorten how long transactions take, reduce costs and improve the quality of information available earlier in the process. Most first-time buyers are in the younger age bracket and tend to be comfortable with digital tools, so these changes should suit them well. We’ve covered what the reforms mean in more detail here.
First Homes scheme
The First Homes scheme lets first-time buyers purchase a new build property at a discount of 30% to 50% below market value. You can also buy a property under the scheme that was originally sold through it and is now being resold. The discount stays attached to the property permanently, so it gets passed on again when you eventually sell. Full eligibility details are on gov.uk’s First Homes scheme page.
Shared ownership
Shared ownership lets you buy a percentage of a property while paying rent on the remainder, which means a lower mortgage repayment each month than buying outright. You can find the full rules on gov.uk’s shared ownership page.
The new First-Time Buyer ISA
Savings schemes are changing too. The Lifetime ISA is set to be replaced by a new First-Time Buyer ISA, announced through a government consultation launched on 23 June 2026. The consultation runs until 18 August 2026, so plenty of the detail is still being worked out, but here’s what’s known so far.
You must be a first-time buyer who has never owned property before, and there’s no upper age limit, unlike the Lifetime ISA’s cap of 40 for opening one. The government will add a bonus on your savings, though the rate hasn’t been confirmed. You’ll need to be buying with a mortgage, and the account must have been open for at least a year before you can use it towards a purchase. If you’re buying with someone else, everyone on the purchase must meet the first-time buyer rules.
You can transfer an existing Help to Buy ISA into a First-Time Buyer ISA once it launches, but Lifetime ISA savings can’t be moved across, since they’ve already received their government bonus. You’ll still be able to access your own savings at any point, though you’d lose the bonus on anything you withdraw early. For the full picture as details are confirmed, Money Saving Expert’s guide is worth bookmarking, and we’ll be keeping an eye on it too.
The bank of mum and dad
There’s also the option of financial help from relatives or friends who are willing to support you through the process, still one of the most common routes onto the ladder for many first-time buyers.
While it might feel daunting to start on the road to home ownership, there’s real help out there. It’s worth talking to a mortgage broker about your options, since they’ll have access to the full range of mortgage products on the market. And when it comes to the legal side, appointing the right solicitor matters just as much. You can still get a focused, quality service without losing control of your budget, which is exactly what Best Value Conveyancing offers.
With Best Value Conveyancing, your full legal service keeps moving without sacrificing quality. We’ll assign you one of our best solicitors to look after the legal side of your move, keeping things as quick as possible.
You’re in safe hands with us. All our quotes are fixed price, and we tell you the cost of standard disbursements upfront. It’s a quality conveyancing service at a genuinely competitive rate, better value than most local or online firms you’ll find elsewhere. We also offer a no completion, no fee guarantee, so if your sale or purchase falls through, even through gazumping, you won’t be left out of pocket.
Call us on 0800 038 7007 to get your conveyancing moving today, or get an instant quote online in seconds.
