Help to Buy – Wales closes on 30 September 2026: what Cardiff buyers need to do now
Quick answer: Applications for Help to Buy – Wales close on 30 September 2026, and any home reserved under the scheme must complete by 30 June 2027. That leaves roughly nine weeks to reserve a plot with a registered builder and get an application in. The scheme gives you a shared equity loan of up to 20% of the purchase price on a new-build home up to £300,000, on top of a 5% deposit. If you're already partway down this road the completion deadline matters as much as the application one — a build that slips past next June leaves you funding the whole purchase yourself. If you haven't started, a 95% mortgage is now the more realistic route for most Cardiff buyers, and it isn't restricted to new-build. Checked against gov.wales, July 2026.
The two deadlines, and why the second one matters more
Most coverage mentions only the application deadline. There are two, and the later one is the one that catches people out:
| Deadline | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Applications close | 30 September 2026 | No new Help to Buy – Wales applications accepted after this date |
| Completions | 30 June 2027 | Every home reserved under the scheme must have legally completed by this date |
The gap between them is nine months. That sounds generous until you set it against how new-build actually works. If you reserve a plot in September 2026 that isn't due for completion until late 2027 — and off-plan reservations at that range are common — the scheme cannot help you, however early you applied. The equity loan has to be drawn down at legal completion, and there is no drawdown after 30 June 2027.
So the practical question isn't "can I apply in time?" It's "will this specific plot be built, signed off and legally completed before 30 June 2027?" Ask the developer for the anticipated build completion date in writing before you reserve, and treat any answer inside about three months of the deadline as a real risk rather than a formality. Build programmes slip.
What the scheme actually gives you
Help to Buy – Wales is a shared equity loan, not a grant and not a mortgage product. The Welsh Government lends you a share of the purchase price, secured against the property, and you repay that share later — as a percentage of what the home is then worth, not as a fixed sum.
- Maximum purchase price £300,000, from a builder registered with the scheme.
- Minimum 5% deposit from you.
- Equity loan of up to 20% of the purchase price.
- You must fund at least 80% of the price through a repayment mortgage plus your 5% deposit — so the equity loan tops up rather than replaces mainstream borrowing.
- The mortgage must be a first-charge repayment mortgage with a qualifying lender. Interest-only is not permitted.
- New-build only, through a participating builder. It cannot be used on an existing home.
On the loan itself: there is no interest for the first five years. From year six interest is charged at 1.75% of the original equity loan amount, rising each year by RPI plus 1%. There is also a £1 monthly management fee, paid by direct debit from the start. Repay the loan in full within the first five years and you pay no interest at all.
There are restrictions attached. You can't sub-let any part of the property, and you can't rent out an existing home in order to buy a second one through the scheme.
The repayment mechanism people misunderstand
This is the part worth being clear-eyed about, because it's where the cost actually sits. You repay the percentage, not the pounds.
Borrow 20% on a £280,000 Cardiff new-build and the loan is £56,000. If that home is worth £330,000 when you come to repay — on sale, on remortgage, or by staircasing out — you owe 20% of £330,000, which is £66,000. The extra £10,000 isn't interest. It's the government's share of your capital growth, and it's payable whether or not you've had a single interest charge.
That isn't a reason to avoid the scheme; sharing the upside is the trade for a smaller deposit, and if prices fall you share that too. But it does mean the equity loan is not "free money for five years", and anyone weighing it against a 95% mortgage should compare the two over the whole period they expect to own the home, not over the interest-free window. Our low-deposit routes guide sets the alternatives side by side.
Is it still worth using with nine weeks left?
It depends almost entirely on where you are already.
Worth pursuing if you've already reserved, or are close to reserving, a plot with a registered builder that will demonstrably complete well before June 2027 — typically something already built or nearly finished. Sites with completed stock or short build programmes are where the remaining value in this scheme is.
Probably not worth chasing if you're at the start of your search. Nine weeks to find a development, check it's registered, reserve, and get an application in is tight, and the plots most likely to still be available in September are the ones furthest from completion — exactly the ones that risk missing the June 2027 date. Rushing a £280,000 decision to hit an administrative deadline is how people end up in the wrong house on the wrong street.
Worth a conversation either way if you're a first-time buyer with around a 5% deposit, because the honest comparison isn't "Help to Buy or nothing" — it's Help to Buy against a 95% mortgage on the open market, where you'd own 100% of the property and 100% of any growth from day one.
What replaces it
Nothing directly, and that's less alarming than it sounds. The scheme has supported 14,779 households in twelve years — but only 603 purchases in 2024-25, which tells you how far the market has moved since 2014. What has changed is that 95% mortgages are now widely available from mainstream lenders on both new-build and existing homes, which simply wasn't the case when Help to Buy launched.
Richard Hullin of Mortgage Advice Bureau, quoted in Mortgage Solutions in July 2026, put it bluntly: lenders "have picked up the slack by offering higher-LTV mortgages", and the scheme "launched with a bang but is going out on a whimper."
The realistic alternatives for a Cardiff buyer:
| Route | Deposit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 95% mortgage | 5% | New-build or existing homes, no price cap, no equity share, no scheme deadline. The mainstream replacement for most buyers. |
| Builder incentives | Varies | Deposit contributions and paid LTT are common on Cardiff developments. Lenders generally accept incentives up to 5% of price before adjusting what they lend against. |
| Shared Ownership – Wales | 5% of your share | Buy 25–75% through a housing association and pay rent on the rest. Still open, income caps apply. |
| Homebuy – Wales | Varies | Equity loan on existing homes, aimed at areas with thin affordable supply. Availability is patchy in central Cardiff. |
There have been calls within the industry to bring the scheme back with the cap lifted from £300,000 to £350,000. At the time of writing no successor scheme has been announced by the Welsh Government, and nobody buying this year should plan around one arriving.
If you already have a Help to Buy – Wales loan
The closure doesn't affect you. Existing equity loans run on exactly as before — interest-free for five years from your completion date, then 1.75% rising with RPI+1%, plus the £1 monthly fee throughout.
Two moments are worth planning for. The first is your fifth anniversary, when interest starts. The second is your first remortgage, because not every lender will remortgage a property with a Help to Buy equity loan still attached, and the ones that will may treat your available loan-to-value differently. If either is on your horizon, our remortgaging in Cardiff guide covers how product transfers and full remortgages differ when there's a second charge on the property.
You can repay part or all of the equity loan early — "staircasing" — at the property's value at the time, which requires a RICS valuation. Repaying in full before year five avoids interest entirely.
FAQ
When exactly does Help to Buy – Wales close? Applications close on 30 September 2026. Separately, any home reserved under the scheme must legally complete by 30 June 2027. Missing either deadline means the equity loan cannot be used.
Can I still apply if I haven't reserved a property yet? Yes, until 30 September 2026 — but you need a reserved plot with a builder registered for the scheme, and that plot must be able to complete before 30 June 2027. With around nine weeks left, this realistically only works on developments with completed or near-complete stock.
What is the maximum property price for Help to Buy – Wales? £300,000, bought from a builder registered with the scheme. It cannot be used on an existing home.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer? No. The scheme is open to first-time buyers and home movers, though you cannot rent out an existing home in order to buy a second one through it.
Is the equity loan interest-free? For the first five years, yes, apart from a £1 monthly management fee. From year six interest is charged at 1.75% of the original loan amount, rising annually by RPI plus 1%. Repaying the loan in full within five years means paying no interest at all.
How much do I pay back? The same percentage you borrowed, based on the property's value when you repay — not the original cash amount. A 20% loan on a £280,000 home is £56,000 at the outset, but £66,000 if the home is worth £330,000 when you repay.
What replaces Help to Buy – Wales? No direct successor has been announced. In practice 95% mortgages have taken over the role for most buyers, and they aren't restricted to new-build or capped at £300,000. Shared Ownership – Wales and Homebuy – Wales both remain open.
Does the closure affect my existing Help to Buy loan? No. Existing loans continue on their original terms, including the five-year interest-free period from your completion date.
Where to go next
If you're weighing a new-build purchase in Cardiff, our new-build buying guide covers builder incentives, down-valuations and the reservation timeline. If you're a first-time buyer working out what's realistic on your income, start with the first-time buyer walkthrough and the salary needed for a Cardiff house. And because Wales has its own transaction tax with different thresholds from England, check the Land Transaction Tax guide before you budget — a £300,000 purchase is taxed very differently either side of the border.
Sources: Help to Buy – Wales and eligibility criteria, gov.wales, checked 25 July 2026.