The government has announced that it will offer payment holidays to homeowners who are struggling to pay interest fees on their Help to Buy equity loans.

It follows the decision by mortgage lenders to make the same offer to customers experiencing personal financial difficulties as a result of Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Help to Buy: Equity Loans are interest-free for the first five years. Therefore, the announcement applies to people who took out the loan before 31 March 2015.

Help to Buy Director Will German at Homes England said: “We will also offer a range of flexible payment options to defer interest payment for a period. In all cases, we will seek to support households in difficulty.

“We understand monthly mortgage payments tend to be the largest outgoing for the vast majority of households. Where households also have equity loan payments under the Help to Buy scheme, we are keen to reassure them that we will offer similar options to their main mortgage lender.

“We will assess all cases of hardship on a case-by-case basis. The first step is for customers experiencing difficulty related to Coronavirus to contact their main mortgage lender to discuss revised payment arrangements.

“They should then contact our equity loan administrator to discuss the options available to them.

“Please don’t struggle in silence. As soon as you think you might have difficulty making payments on your Help to Buy: Equity Loan account, get in touch – help is at hand.”

Please contact us if you would like advice about the legal aspects of buying or selling a home.