First-time buyer schemes in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

If you can’t afford the full price of a home for sale in the open market you might be able to get help through the OMSE) scheme.

The scheme is available to the following priority access groups:

• people aged 60 and over

• social renters (people who rent from the council or a housing association)

• disabled people

• members of the armed forces

• veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years

• widows, widowers and other partners of service personnel for up to two years after their partner has lost their life while serving

Through the OMSE scheme you'll be able to buy a home without having to fund its entire cost and will get help from the Scottish Government.

You'll normally buy a 60% to 90% share of the property. The Scottish Government will hold the remaining share under a shared equity agreement.

You'll have 'complete title' to your home and your name will be on the title deeds for it. But there will be a mortgage (or 'standard security') on the home to make sure the Scottish Government's share is protected.

When you sell the property, the Scottish Government will get a share of the money.

Once you’ve bought your home, you will have the option to increase your equity share by a minimum of at least 5% in any one year. You may also increase your share up to 100% if you choose to do so. However, in some cases, the Scottish government may insist on keeping at least a 10% stake in the property. When it comes to selling your home, you will get the percentage of it you own, alongside any increase in value on that share. The remaining share, as well as the relative equity gained, will go back to the government.

Through the NSSE scheme you'll be able to buy a new build home without having to fund its entire cost, and will receive assistance from the Scottish Government.

The NSSE scheme is aimed at households with low to medium incomes. The local council or social landlord in your area will assess your application to see if you qualify.

The scheme is available to:

• first-time buyers

• people aged 60 and over

• social renters (people who rent from the council or a housing association)

• disabled people

• members of the armed forces

• veterans who have left the armed forces within the past two years

• widows, widowers and other partners of service personnel for up to two years after their partner lost their life while serving

You'll pay for the biggest share – usually between 60% and 80% of the home's cost – and the Scottish Government will hold the remaining share under a 'shared equity agreement'.

Under NSSE, the buyer has complete title to their home and their name will be on the title deeds. But there will be a mortgage (or 'standard security') on the home to make sure the Scottish Government's share is protected.

When you later sell the home, the Scottish Government will get a share of the money.

This is funded by the Welsh government and run by councils and housing associations. Councils that offer the scheme must allocate a housing association to run it in their area.

The Homebuy scheme is designed to help people on low incomes – not just first-timers – to buy a property. Being accepted for the scheme requires proof that you couldn’t afford to buy a property without the help of Homebuy. At the same time, though, you need to demonstrate that you are able to qualify for a mortgage.

In addition, you must not be in rental arrears, receiving Housing Benefits, or have received them in the 12 months prior to your application.

Homebuy is not available in all areas and where it is available the scheme will be subject to local eligibility criteria.

You will normally need to contribute 70% of the purchase price of a home through a mortgage and/or personal savings. The housing association will loan you an equity loan for the remaining share (i.e. 30%).

You don’t have to make any monthly payments towards your equity loan. You must repay the equity loan when you sell the home at the equivalent percentage value of your home at the time you sell it.

Despite the shared equity, you alone be responsible for any repairs and paying council tax.

Help to Buy has been extended in Wales for a further 18 months to September 2026, having previously been scheduled to end in March 2025.

Under the scheme the Welsh Government provides ‘equity mortgages’ to buyers of new-build homes bought through a participating builder.

Buyers need to provide a 5% deposit. The scheme then provides an equity mortgage of up to 20% of the purchase price. The buyer then need to take out a repayment mortgage to cover the remaining amount (i.e. 75%).

The equity mortgage needs to be repaid within 25 years. However, you are free to pay off your equity mortgage at any point within that period.

The Co-Own scheme enables you to buy part of your home and rent the remaining share from the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association.

You'll need to buy at least 50% of the property with a regular mortgage, but you can choose to buy as much as 90%. You can then ‘staircase’ in 5% increments up to full ownership.

When you buy, you become a leaseholder, as you receive a 99-year equity-sharing lease on your property.

To be eligible, the property you're buying in Northern Ireland must be worth less than £210,000.

The amount of rent you will pay on your home is currently calculated at 2.5% (per year) of the value of the share you haven’t yet bought. That’s £25 a year for every £1,000 owned by the housing association.

Rent increases are linked to the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation and are reviewed once a year. Should any changes to your rent be made, you'll be given one month’s notice. When you sell up, if you don’t own your property in full, the value of the share you don’t own will go to Co-Ownership Housing. You can find out more about the scheme at Co-Ownership.org.

Rent to Own offers an alternative route to home ownership. The idea is to help people who want to own their own home, but aren’t quite in the position to buy yet

You choose to rent a new build house anywhere in Northern Ireland (up to the value of £210,000) for up to three years whilst taking steps to improve your mortgagability – such as paying off debts or improving your credit score.

At the end of the tenancy, you can buy the property from the housing association at its current market value. The housing association will give you a 20% refund of the rent that you have paid which can be used as a deposit for your mortgage on the property.

Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE), allows Housing Executive tenants to purchase their homes at a discount. Eligibility is based on tenancy length, with discounts increasing with each year of tenancy.

For example, if you’ve lived in the property for five years, you’ll receive a 20% discount. Then, for every extra year you’ve been in the house, you’ll get an additional 2% discount. The maximum discount you can receive is 60% of the property’s valuation or £24,000.