First Homes scheme 2026: who qualifies, how it compares

What is the First Homes scheme?

The First Homes scheme sells selected new-build homes in England to first-time buyers at a discount of at least 30% below market value, with the discount fixed to the home for ever so that the next buyer gets it too (GOV.UK). It began in 2021, it is only available in England, and it exists only where a council has required a developer to include First Homes in a development. It is easy to confuse with two other schemes.

The First Homes scheme, Your First Home and Ireland’s First Home Scheme are three different things, and the difference between the first two matters to anyone buying a new build in England.

Sources: GOV.UK First Homes guide, GOV.UK First Homes guidance, GOV.UK Your First Home announcement, firsthomescheme.ie.

How First Homes works

First Homes lets you buy a new-build home for 30% to 50% less than its market value (GOV.UK). The discount is set by the council when the development gets planning permission, and the minimum is 30%. After the discount, the price must be no more than £250,000, or £420,000 in Greater London (GOV.UK). You must be a first-time buyer (everyone buying must be), your household must earn no more than £80,000 a year before tax (£90,000 in London), and councils can give priority to local people and key workers for the first three months a home is on sale (GOV.UK).

The catch is the discount never goes away. A legal restriction on the title means when you sell, you must sell at the same percentage discount to another eligible first-time buyer (GOV.UK). You keep 70% of any rise in value, and you can only sell to a limited pool of buyers.

Who is eligible for First Homes?

GOV.UK lists four tests, and every one of them applies to every person buying (GOV.UK):

• You must “be 18 or older”.
• You must “be a first-time buyer”. If you buy with someone else, all of you must be first-time buyers and you apply together.
• You must “be able to get a mortgage for at least half the price of the home”. A cash purchase does not qualify, and the mortgage must cover at least 50% of the discounted price.
• Your household must “not earn more than £80,000 a year before tax (£90,000 if the property is in London)”. For joint buyers that is your combined income.

On top of that, the council can set local rules that apply for “the first 3 months that a property is on sale”: priority for key workers, people who already live in the area, or people on lower incomes. Members of the armed forces and their families are exempt from the key worker and local residence rules (GOV.UK). After the three months, any eligible first-time buyer can apply.

How do you find and apply for a First Home?

There is no central list. First Homes are either a new home built by a developer under a planning agreement, or a resale of a home someone bought through the scheme before, sold through an estate agent (GOV.UK). Developers advertise them on the development’s own listings, usually marked “First Homes”, and some councils publish where they have secured them. The application runs through the seller: GOV.UK says to “contact the developer or estate agent … and tell them you want to buy a property through the First Homes scheme”; they check you meet the rules, help you complete the application and submit it to the council, which decides whether you are eligible (GOV.UK). New-build sellers may ask for a reservation fee, which you get back if the council turns you down. Once the council approves you, you appoint a solicitor or conveyancer, apply for a mortgage covering at least half the price, and complete the legal documents that put the discount on the title.

Is the First Homes scheme still available in 2026?

Yes, but supply is patchy and getting patchier. From 2021 the government’s planning rules required councils to make at least 25% of the affordable housing on new developments First Homes. The revised National Planning Policy Framework of December 2024 removed that requirement, leaving First Homes as one option a council can choose if it suits local needs rather than something every development must deliver (Capsticks, 13 December 2024). Homes already secured under earlier planning agreements still come to market, and resales carry the discount for ever, so First Homes will exist for years, but whether any are near you depends on your council. That is the biggest practical difference from Your First Home, which is expected to work on any qualifying new build from a participating developer once it launches.

How Your First Home works

Your First Home is the new equity loan scheme: you put down 2.5% of the full price, the government lends 20%, and a mortgage covers the rest (GOV.UK). You own 100% of the home and can sell it to anyone, but when you sell you are expected to repay 20% of what it is then worth, as with Help to Buy. The how it works page goes through the mechanics.

A worked example: the same £300,000 home under each scheme

Assume a new build worth £300,000, a 25-year repayment mortgage, and a first-time buyer with a small deposit. The First Homes mortgage is 95% of the discounted price, so it uses the best 95% rate on 26 September 2026 (5.55%); the Your First Home mortgage is 77.5% of the full price, so it uses the best rate for that band (5%), both from the HomeOwners Alliance table.

Now sell after five years with the market up 15%, so the home is worth £345,000:

First Homes needs a slightly bigger deposit in cash (5% of a smaller price), costs about £128 a month less, and demands a lower income. Your First Home gives you a full-price home you can sell freely, at a higher monthly cost, and hands 20% of the growth back. Neither is “better”; they suit different people, and First Homes only exists where a council has required it.

Which should you look for?

• If a First Homes property exists in your area and you qualify, it is usually the cheaper route, and worth the restricted resale if you plan to stay for years.
• If you cannot find a First Home, or the local priority rules exclude you, Your First Home is expected to be far more widely available once it launches.
• If you might move within five years, the equity loan’s repayment terms and the First Homes resale restriction both need thinking through; the pros and cons page helps.
• Whatever you choose, the first-time buyer test is the same: everyone buying must never have owned a home.

And Ireland’s First Home Scheme

If you searched for “first home scheme” and landed on pages about Cork and Dublin, that is the Irish government’s shared equity scheme, which takes a stake of up to 30% in a new home and is repaid as a share of value, much like Your First Home (firsthomescheme.ie). It is not available in the UK.