The legal completion deadline for the current Help to Buy scheme has been extended to 31 May, the government has confirmed.

Applications for the 2013-2021 scheme closed on 15 December 2020, but Homes England announced that an extension to the current scheme has been granted to cater for delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government also stated that the new Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme, open to first-time buyers only, will be available from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2023. This scheme opened for applications on 16 December.

In a statement, Homes England said: “Help to Buy will end on 31 March 2021, but homebuyers using the current scheme will have more time to complete their purchase. We are extending legal completion to 31 May 2021 due to delays caused by coronavirus.

“This allows an extra two months for homebuilders to complete the build and for homebuyers to legally complete and get the keys to their home.

“There will be no more extensions, so we are asking homebuilders to continue to build at pace.

“If your build is severely delayed and you cannot meet the legal completion by 31 May 2021, your homebuilder must unconditionally release you from the contract.”

Legal & General Mortgage Club head of broker relationships and propositions, Craig Hall, suggested the government’s decision to extend the legal completion deadline will provide “much needed breathing space” for consumers to finalise their home purchase before the current scheme ends.

“It’s been confirmed that this will be the final extension of the scheme and advisers now have a key role to play in helping buyers to understand what these changes mean for them,” Hall said.
 
“The wider mortgage industry, including advisers, lenders, surveyors and conveyancers, must now work together to ensure those using the current Help to Buy programme are able to complete on their purchase as quickly as possible.

“Importantly, with the current stamp duty ‘holiday’ due to end on 31 March, those unable to complete before this date will need to pay the associated Stamp Duty on their property, although first time buyers in England will remain exempt up to £300,000. Tapering the ‘holiday’ deadline could help avoid this cliff edge – something we hope policymakers will consider in the forthcoming Budget.”

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