Homebuy – Wales: how the Welsh Government's 30% equity loan works
Quick answer: Homebuy – Wales is a Welsh Government scheme that helps people who couldn't otherwise afford a suitable home to buy an existing property — not a new-build. You contribute around 70% of the price through a mortgage and/or savings, and an equity loan covers the remaining 30%. There are no monthly payments on the loan; you repay 30% of your home's value when you sell, or earlier if you choose. It isn't available in every area — each local authority or housing association that runs it sets its own criteria. Checked against gov.wales, August 2026.
What Homebuy – Wales is
Homebuy – Wales is an equity loan scheme for existing homes. The Welsh Government describes it as supporting "people who could not otherwise afford to buy a property", and notes it is "particularly of benefit in more rural communities where there may be few opportunities to buy a home" (gov.wales).
That last line matters. Unlike Help to Buy – Wales, which operated on registered new-build developments across Cardiff and the South Wales towns, Homebuy is targeted at areas where affordable homes to buy are thin on the ground — and it is not available everywhere. Where it does run, the local authority or a Registered Social Landlord (a housing association) administers it and sets local eligibility criteria on top of the national ones.
How the loan works
The structure, from the scheme's own guidance:
- You normally contribute 70% of the purchase price, through a mortgage from an approved lender and/or your own savings. Your deposit sits inside that 70% — the scheme doesn't remove the need for one, it shrinks the mortgage you need.
- The equity loan covers the remaining 30%.
- There are no monthly payments on the equity loan — nothing to pay the housing association month to month. Your only regular payment is your mortgage.
- When you sell, you repay the same percentage of the home's value at the time of sale — not the pound amount you borrowed. If your home has gone up in value, you repay more than you borrowed; if it has fallen, you repay less.
- You can repay early, before selling, based on your home's value at that point.
The Welsh Government's own worked example, for a £200,000 home:
| Value of home | Your contribution (70%) | Equity loan (30%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| At purchase | £200,000 | £140,000 | £60,000 |
| Sold after a 2% rise | £204,000 | £142,800 | £61,200 to repay |
| Sold after a 2% fall | £196,000 | £137,200 | £58,800 to repay |
The honest way to think about the cost: the loan is free to service but not free overall — its real cost is 30% of whatever your home gains in value between buying and repaying. In a flat market it costs you nothing beyond what you borrowed; in a rising one, the repayment grows with your home.
Who is eligible
The national criteria, per gov.wales:
- you can show the local authority or Registered Social Landlord that you are not adequately housed, or can no longer afford to stay in your current home
- you could not buy a home suitable for your needs without Homebuy's help
- you can obtain a mortgage to cover your contribution, and have savings to cover the other costs of buying
- you meet the specific local criteria set by whichever local authority or housing association runs the scheme in your area
Applicants can be receiving Housing Benefit (or have received it in the previous 12 months) and still apply, provided they pass the lender's affordability assessment — though once you own the home, support switches to the separate Support for Mortgage Interest arrangement.
In practice the first two tests mean Homebuy is aimed at households priced out of their own area — not at buyers who could stretch to a suitable home on the open market. Expect the administering landlord to look at your circumstances in detail.
Where it runs — and the South Wales picture
Availability is decided locally, so there is no single map of "Homebuy areas". The scheme's rural emphasis means it is more likely to be running in parts of the Vale of Glamorgan, rural Monmouthshire or west along the coast than in central Cardiff or Newport, where the affordable-supply argument is harder to make. If you're targeting a specific town, the route is simple: ask the housing options team at that local authority, or the housing associations operating there, whether Homebuy is currently open and what the local criteria are.
To apply where it does run, the guidance asks you to read the Homebuy – Wales Buyers Guide and complete an application form from a participating Registered Social Landlord or the local authority (gov.wales).
Homebuy vs Help to Buy – Wales
The two Welsh equity loan schemes are easy to confuse, and with Help to Buy – Wales closing to new applications on 30 September 2026, Homebuy is about to become the only equity loan route left in Wales:
| Homebuy – Wales | Help to Buy – Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| Property type | Existing homes | New-build only, registered developments |
| Status | Open (local availability varies) | Closes to new applications 30 Sept 2026 |
| Equity loan | ~30% | Up to 20% (£300,000 price cap) |
| Monthly cost of the loan | None | Interest-free for 5 years, then interest applies |
| Repayment | 30% of value at sale (or earlier) | Percentage of value at sale or after 25 years |
| Who it targets | Households priced out of their area, often rural | Any eligible buyer on a participating development |
Both repay as a percentage of your home's value, not a fixed sum — the mechanism most people misunderstand about equity loans generally.
The costs Homebuy doesn't remove
- Land Transaction Tax is charged on the full purchase price, not just your 70% share. Wales has no first-time buyer relief — the same bands apply to everyone, with nothing to pay below £225,000. Run your target price through our stamp duty Wales calculator.
- Buying costs — survey, legal fees and moving costs all still apply; the eligibility rules expect you to have savings for them.
- Your mortgage is a normal one, from an approved lender, with a normal affordability assessment on your 70% share.
For the full menu of low-deposit routes in Wales — 95% mortgages, shared ownership, gifted deposits and the scheme-status table — see our first-time buyer schemes and low-deposit routes in Wales guide.
FAQ
Is Homebuy – Wales still open in 2026?
Yes. Unlike Help to Buy – Wales, which closes to new applications on 30 September 2026, Homebuy – Wales has no announced closure date. But it has never run everywhere — availability depends on your local authority, so "open nationally" doesn't guarantee it's open where you want to buy. Check with the local authority's housing team before planning around it.
Do I pay interest on the Homebuy – Wales equity loan?
No — there are no monthly payments on the loan at all. The cost is built into repayment instead: you repay 30% of your home's value at the time you sell (or repay early), so if your home rises in value, the repayment rises with it. That is different from Help to Buy – Wales, where the loan is interest-free for five years and then starts charging interest.
Can I use Homebuy – Wales in Cardiff?
Possibly, but don't count on it. The scheme is targeted at areas with few affordable homes to buy — often more rural parts of South Wales — and each local authority decides whether and where it runs. Cardiff Council's housing options team can tell you whether any Homebuy allocation is currently open; in central Cardiff the realistic low-deposit route is more often a 95% mortgage or Shared Ownership – Wales.
Can I repay the equity loan without selling?
Yes. You can repay before you sell, based on your home's value at the time of repayment — so some owners repay after a few years of pay rises or overpayments, to own the full 100% before a further rise in values makes the 30% more expensive to buy out.
Is there a price cap or income cap?
The national guidance sets no fixed price cap or income cap — but the eligibility tests (you must be unable to buy a suitable home without help) and the local criteria set by each authority do the same job in practice. The administering landlord assesses whether the home and your circumstances fit the scheme.
Where to go next
Homebuy is one route among several, and the right one depends on where you're buying and what you can put down. Start with the low-deposit routes in Wales overview, check what Land Transaction Tax adds at your price, and if you're weighing a new-build against an existing home before the Help to Buy deadline, our Help to Buy – Wales closure guide covers the timings.