Prime minister Boris Johnson has confirmed plans which will allow homebuyers on lower wages to use housing benefit - currently amounting to £30m per year - towards their mortgage.
Giving a speech in Blackpool today, Johnson said: "We're going to look to change the rules on welfare, so 1.5 million working people who are in receipt of housing benefits, I stress working people, and want to buy their first home will be given a new choice: to spend their benefit on rent as now, or put it towards a first ever mortgage."
"Doing so removes a significant barrier that currently prevents hundreds of thousands of families from buying their own home."
He also said "we're going to explore discounting Lifetime and Help to Buy ISA savings from Universal Credit eligibility rules".
In addition, a mortgage review, to be published this autumnn, looking at how low-deposit mortgages could be extended. Johnson also confirmed an extension to Right to Buy rules, giving thousands of households in housing association properties the right to purchase their home at a discounted price.
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The performance of the UK housing market in 2024 has largely exceeded many people's expectations, although challenges remain for first-time buyers due to house prices increasing and a testing rental market for many. Regional disparities, such as the North-South divide, also continue to influence housing accessibility and affordability for many buyers in pockets of the country.
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MoneyAge News Editor, Michael Griffiths, hosts Family Building Society BDMs, Amar Mashru and Arif Kara, to discuss intergenerational lending and explore ways that buyers can use family income to help increase their borrowing capacity when applying for a mortgage
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