Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the existing Help to Buy Scheme for people purchasing new homes, where the build completion date has been extended beyond the deadline as a result of the disruption caused by the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises that there have been delays caused by Covid-19, resulting in some homes reserved under the Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme not being built within the current scheme deadlines. Therefore, on 31st July a two-month extension was announced to the building completion deadline from 31 December 2020 to 28 February 2021. The legal completion deadline for the purchase remains 31 March 2021.

The Government also announced an extra measure to protect existing customers who have experienced severe delays as a result of coronavirus. Homes England, who administer the Help to Buy scheme, will work with those who had a reservation in place before 30 June to assess their situation and look to provide an extension where necessary. In which case, they will have until 31 May 2021 to legally complete. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-scheme-extended .

Meanwhile the Government’s new Help to Buy scheme, which will replace the current scheme and is for first time buyers only, will commence on 1 April 2021 and run until March 2023. There are no plans for further extensions.

Further details on the Government's new Help to Buy Scheme can be found at: https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/help-to-buy-equity-loan-2021-2023/ .