"Housebuilders must make sure they finish all building work by this date and the legal completion deadline remains March 31."
Lobbyists had asked for an extension until the end of February, making the extension announced by the government today even more generous than expected.
"In previous years, Homes England did extend the deadline month by month until the legal completion deadline of March 31, so we wanted to create awareness so this is done again," Patel explained.
The Help to Buy scheme, introduced almost a decade ago, allowed the government to offer up to 20 per cent of a newly built house or flat’s value (40 per cent in Greater London) in the form of an equity loan, with the home buyer able to put down a minimum 5 per cent deposit.
It was updated in April 2021 with new regional price caps and was restricted to applications from first time buyers only.
Set to wind up this year, the end of Help to Buy leaves a handful of other government schemes, such as shared ownership, the mortgage guarantee scheme and First Homes, as well as a £11.5bn which has been allocated to building affordable homes.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com
