Overview
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the Your First Home scheme on Saturday 26 September as a central Labour policy to help more young people buy homes.
- Under the headline design buyers would need a 2.5% deposit and could receive a government-backed equity loan worth 20% of a new-build’s price with an initial interest-free period.
- The scheme will be limited to new-build homes sold by developers who sign up and will use household income and local price caps to target help at those without family support.
- Ministers say funding will come from reprioritised existing government spending and that participating developers must contribute to the scheme’s running costs.
- The government frames the programme as a way to boost demand for new-builds while learning from the original Help to Buy, which critics say partly inflated prices, and full details, costs and a rollout timetable will be published at the 28 October Budget.