Home Ownership Scheme Terms

Government scheme language becomes confusing fastest when very different routes are treated as if they all do the same job.

Some terms below describe live first-time buyer routes, some describe tenant-purchase routes, some describe mortgage-market support, and some only matter now because older accounts or loans are still being managed.

Stamp duty relief is a tax rule rather than a home ownership scheme, so it is covered separately in the Stamp Duty Guide.

Lifetime ISA (LISA)

A Lifetime ISA is a savings account that can help an eligible first-time buyer build a deposit.

You can open one if you are aged 18 to 39, pay in up to £4,000 each tax year, and receive a 25% government bonus. For a first-home purchase, the property must cost £450,000 or less and the account must have been open for at least 12 months before a penalty-free qualifying withdrawal.

First Homes

First Homes is an England-only scheme for eligible first-time buyers buying selected new-build homes at a discount.

The discount is 30% to 50% off market value, and the buyer must use a mortgage for at least 50% of the discounted purchase price. Local councils can also apply local priority rules, so this is one of the schemes where location matters as much as the headline discount.

Shared Ownership

Shared Ownership lets an eligible buyer purchase a share of a home and pay rent on the part they do not own.

Buyers usually purchase between 10% and 75% of the home’s market value. This route can help where buying outright is not affordable, but it still involves a deposit, mortgage payments, rent on the unsold share and any service charges linked to the property.

Right to Shared Ownership

Right to Shared Ownership gives some tenants in England the chance to buy a share of the home they are renting.

Where the route applies, the purchase share is usually between 10% and 75%. It is narrower than the main Shared Ownership scheme, so it is best understood as a tenant route rather than a general first-time buyer product.

Right to Buy

Right to Buy is the route that allows many eligible council tenants in England to buy the home they live in at a discount.

The broad rule is that the property must be your only or main home and you must usually have had a public sector landlord for at least 3 years. The level of discount depends on the property type, the length of tenancy and the current cash caps in force for the application.

Right to Acquire

Right to Acquire is a separate tenant-purchase route that can apply to some housing association tenants in England.

It is not the same as Right to Buy. Eligibility depends on the landlord, the property and the tenant’s history in public sector housing, and the discount depends on location.

Mortgage Guarantee Scheme

The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme is support for participating lenders rather than a cash payment to the buyer.

Its purpose is to help lenders offer more 91% to 95% loan-to-value mortgages. For buyers, that makes it relevant mainly as a term behind some low-deposit mortgage products rather than as a separate application route in its own right.

Help to Buy ISA

Help to Buy ISA is a legacy savings product.

You can no longer open one, but existing account holders can keep paying in until November 2029 and can claim the government bonus until November 2030. If you also have a Lifetime ISA, only one government bonus can be used towards the same purchase.

Help to Buy: Equity Loan

Help to Buy: Equity Loan is a legacy term for new buyers in England because new applications are closed.

It still matters for existing borrowers because the loan and fee rules continue after purchase. If you are already in the scheme, the equity loan remains part of the home’s financing until it is repaid.

Help to Build: Equity Loan

In England, you can no longer apply for the Help to Build: Equity Loan.

The term still appears in older planning material and in existing approved cases, so it is best understood as a separate government equity-loan route for self-build or custom-build projects rather than as an ordinary home-purchase mortgage.

If you want to move from scheme names to a real decision, use the Government Schemes Guide, the First-Time Buyer Guide and the Affordability Planner.