Help to Build
The Help to Build equity loan scheme is open to applications
Government has launched the Help to Build equity loan scheme, offering access to a custom and self build home for more people, especially those with lower deposits.
NaCSBA has lobbied government successfully for Help to Build, to address the imbalance in the construction sector created by the Help to Buy scheme, which custom and self builders are unable to access.
NaCSBA’s role
NaCSBA initially put forward the first proposals for Help to Build to government, and is delighted that it used the basis of our thinking to underpin the scheme.
NaCSBA (supported by BuildStore and Graven Hill) initially worked with 12 lenders active in the market to develop a workable variation of the scheme of the original Help to Buy, but tailored to support the custom and self build sector. This scheme not only helps those looking to build or commission their own home it also, unlike Help to Buy, helps SME builders with cash flows during the build.
The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme (and its variants in Scotland and Wales) has significantly boosted the supply of new build homes in the years it was operational, and it is expected that Help to Build will have the same positive effect.
Whilst the Help to Buy scheme was focussed on the builder, the Help to Build scheme is focussed on the mortgage lender. This is because the self-builder is likely to engage with multiple parties – to buy the land, build the house and fit out the interior. Whilst these arrangements will be largely invisible to all except the customer and lender, it is important to recognise the possibilities that will arise from this scheme and the way in which it will open the market up to those with smaller deposits.
Right to Build Portal
Find out more about the Right to Build, or find your local registers at the Right to Build Portal.
Campaigning for change
NaCSBA is campaigning for a Help to Build Equity Loan scheme to match the lifespan of Help to Buy. Should the scheme operate over this extended period it would create the platform for a step change is the sector. It would encourage landowners to bring forward land, and suppliers and builders to invest in the sector.
It would ensure the delivery of more and better homes that more people aspire to live in and that communities are happier to see built. It would help move the UK off the bottom of the world league for the number of self build homes that are built.
It is consistent with Government housing policy. The Housing White Paper states:
“The way in which the house-building market operates constrains the supply of new homes because there is insufficient competition and innovation. We want to diversify the market to achieve the amount of quality and choice of housing that people want. We will support custom-build homes with greater access to land and finance, giving people more choice over the design of their home.”