Government extends Help to Buy deadline by one month

The discussions saw the industry explaining that due to supply chain and labour issues, and other delays outside the home builder’s control, a small number of reservations were at risk of missing the government's Help to Buy deadline.

Homes England had initially declined HBF's request for an extension but conversations had continued with DLUHC which resulted in the change of heart.

On properties where a developer notifies Homes England (in writing) by December 20 2022 that it is unlikely to reach Practical Completion by December 31 2022, the deadline will instead be January 31 2023.

HBF says the forbearance is only available to customers who already have an Authority to Proceed (ATP) or Authority to Exchange (ATE) in progress. No cancelled applications will be reinstated, and no new or additional reservations can be submitted.

It adds that the letter reiterates that there will be no leniency on the final legal completion deadline of March 31 2023. As a result, developers will need to report to Homes England on their progress. Where developers have orders they do not think they are able to complete by March 31 2023, they must communicate this to their customers as soon as possible.

HBF says: “Homes England will shortly contact all developers with an active reservation, notifying them of the amended first longstop date. As part of the correspondence, developers will receive access to an online form requiring details of each individual reservation that will make use of the additional forbearance period. There will be no extension to the deadline for this correspondence of December 20 2022.”

The federation will be expected to respond to the minister acknowledging the terms of this extension and confirming its understanding that the legal completion deadline of March 2023 will not present its members with any difficulties.

Conor Murphy, CEO and Founder, Smartr365, comments: “While a nice sentiment, a one-month extension will not go far in helping developers or buyers. Nonetheless, this is good news for those with an Authority to Proceed (ATP) letter and should encourage a slightly smoother end to this popular scheme, which has already helped over 300,000 first-time buyers.”