Thousands of people in England will be supported onto the property ladder and given the opportunity to build their own home, with the launch of the government’s Help to Build scheme. Backed by £150 million, Help to Build will provide a government equity loan to people who want to build their own home but don’t have a sufficient deposit.
Applications to the scheme opened today, making self and custom-designed homes an option for those who don’t have Grand Designs size budgets. It will build on the success of other government schemes, including Help to Buy and Right to Buy, which have helped more than 765,000 people buy their own homes and will contribute to the one million homes being built by the end of this parliament.
Central Devon MP Mel Stride, who helped to increase national funding for affordable housing from £7 billion to £9 billion when he served as a treasury minister, said:
“We need to build more homes for future generations, but we need them built to high environmental standards, where communities want them and with appropriate infrastructure improvements. I have visited two local developments in progress this year in Moretonhampstead and Exminster*, both different, but each helping to meet the local housing need in their own way. The Government is right to be helping families with self and custom build aspirations and I hope the scheme will prove beneficial to those with disabilities who want to design a home specific to their living requirements.”
For more information visit www.ownyourhome.gov.uk.
*Photo: Mel visiting a new housing development in Exminster earlier this year.
