How is the Help to Buy repayment figure worked out?
The equity loan was a percentage of the purchase price, and you repay the same percentage of the property's market value at the time of repayment. The value comes from a RICS valuation you commission, and on a sale the administrator uses the higher of that valuation and the agreed sale price. Checked 20 September 2026. Interest, fees and any arrears are added. Part repayments work the same way for the fraction being repaid.
Because the figure follows the value, timing matters. A valuation obtained early in a sale fixes the basis; a rising market between valuation and completion does not change it while the valuation remains valid. Equally, if you have improved the home, the valuation is of the property as it stands, so the improvement is shared with the government unless it falls inside the narrow published exception described below. The valuation report itself runs for three months from the date it was produced, and gov.uk sets out how it can be extended if completion slips beyond that. Checked 20 September 2026.
| Full redemption on a sale | Full redemption by remortgage | Part repayment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis of the figure | Higher of RICS valuation and sale price, per gov.uk, checked 20 September 2026 | RICS valuation | RICS valuation, for the fraction repaid |
| Who must consent | Administrator | Administrator and new lender | Administrator, and first lender where its terms require |
| Paid from | Sale proceeds at completion | New mortgage advance | Savings or new borrowing |
| Second charge | Discharged | Discharged | Stays for the reduced share |
| Typical timing | Inside the sale timetable | Six to ten weeks | Four to eight weeks |
Is Help to Buy still open?
Not for new buyers in England. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applications on 31 October 2022 and ended on 31 March 2023. Existing loans continue on their original terms until they are repaid, and the government's share is administered on Homes England's behalf by Lenvi Servicing Limited, previously Equiniti Gateway Services (gov.uk, page updated 16 June 2023). Wales is a different matter. Help to Buy, Wales is a separate Welsh Government scheme with its own administrator and its own rules on repayment, and it has not closed: gov.wales states that applications must be submitted by 31 March 2027 (checked 20 September 2026). Nothing on this page about the English scheme's terms should be applied to a Welsh loan.
The mechanics of redemption do not change with the scheme's closure. What has changed is that many loans are now more than five years old, so interest is running on them and rising each year. Redeeming a loan is not a land transaction, so no Stamp Duty Land Tax or Land Transaction Tax arises on it; those taxes are only relevant if you are buying another property at the same time.
What happens to the second charge at completion?
The equity loan is secured by a charge registered behind your mortgage lender's, with a restriction that prevents a sale or a new mortgage being registered without the administrator's consent. On full redemption the administrator releases the charge once it has the money, and we lodge the discharge at HM Land Registry so the charge and the restriction come off the register. On a part repayment, the charge stays but the administrator records the reduced share.
On a remortgage where the loan remains, the administrator's deed of postponement is registered with the new mortgage so that the new lender ranks first. If the discharge is not lodged, the charge stays on the title and resurfaces at the next sale or remortgage, where it can stall a later transaction. Our DS1 guide explains how a discharge is registered.