Forty-seven per cent of adults in the UK are unaware of the schemes helping FTBs get onto the housing ladder, according to new research from Trussle.

The online mortgage broker surveyed 2,001 people across the UK and found that there’s widespread confusion over the Help to Buy ISA, Help to Buy Equity Loan and Shared Ownership schemes.

While 53% of surveyed adults were aware of the home ownership schemes available, 47% were completely unable to identify them. Furthermore, only one in five adults across the UK were able to correctly name at least one of the three main schemes.

Overall, the survey found 58% of people believe home ownership schemes are too complicated to understand, and among those aged between 18 and 34 years, the figure rose to 64%. Just 8% of responding adults thought the schemes were easy to understand.

Trussle CEO and founder, Ishaan Malhi, commented: “This research uncovers the scale of misunderstanding around the existing housing schemes designed to help FTBs onto the property ladder. Significant numbers of people feel locked out of homeownership and this lack of awareness around their options is simply making things worse.

“The truth is that the complexities around homeownership, including mortgages, present a wider industry problem around clarity.”

Trussle announced it has designed a tool to help savers understand all the available home ownership schemes, with a questionnaire that confirms eligibility and offers guidance on the criteria needed for each scheme.

Malhi added: “We’ve built a home ownership tool to help people try and navigate these schemes and find out which they could qualify for.

“We will shortly be introducing specialist teams of brokers to specifically manage applications via home ownership schemes too – but education for FTBs should be more widely accessible.

“If these schemes were simplified, prospective buyers would be more likely to understand the options available to them, more quickly. We want all FTBs to feel properly supported on their home ownership journey and maintain any momentum in today’s already tough market.”

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