Help to Buy Equity Loan — Complete Guide for Existing Borrowers in 2026

Help to Buy Equity Loan — What Existing Borrowers Need to Know in 2026

The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2023. However, hundreds of thousands of homeowners across England still hold an equity loan from either the 2013–2021 scheme or the 2021–2023 scheme. If you are one of them, your loan has not gone away — and understanding your ongoing obligations is critical to protecting your finances and your home.

What the Equity Loan Is

Under Help to Buy, the government provided an equity loan of up to 20% of your property's purchase price (or up to 40% if you bought in London). You paid at least a 5% deposit and took a conventional repayment mortgage for the remainder. The equity loan itself was interest-free for the first five years.

Crucially, the loan is expressed as a percentage of your property's value — not a fixed cash sum. This means the amount you owe in real terms rises or falls with your property's market value. If your home has increased in value since you bought it, you will repay more than you originally borrowed. If it has fallen in value, you will repay less.

Who Administers the Scheme Now?

Since the scheme closed to new applicants, the administrator for all ongoing Help to Buy equity loans in England is **Target HCA**. They manage your account, issue statements, process repayments, and handle consent requests such as remortgaging. Homes England administered the original applications, but Target HCA now handles all post-completion matters.

You can access your account and manage your loan through the Target HCA online portal. Keep your login details safe — you will need them for any repayment or administrative request.

Management Fees From Year Six

Your equity loan was interest-free for years one to five. From year six onwards, you pay a monthly management fee. For the 2021–2023 scheme, this fee starts at **1.75% of your original equity loan amount per year**, charged monthly. Each year from April, the fee increases in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 1 percentage point.

For example, if your original equity loan was £40,000 (20% of a £200,000 purchase), your monthly management fee in year six would be approximately £58.33 per month (£700 per year). This increases annually and does not reduce your loan balance — it is purely a fee for holding the loan.

How to Repay the Loan

You can repay your equity loan in full or in part at any time. Part-repayment (known as staircasing) requires a minimum repayment of 10% of your property's **current market value** at the time of repayment — not 10% of your original loan. A RICS-registered surveyor must conduct a formal valuation before any repayment, and that valuation must be less than three months old when submitted to Target HCA.

Full repayment is typically triggered when you sell your home, when your mortgage term ends, or when you choose to clear the loan.

What You Cannot Do Without Consent

While you hold an equity loan, you must obtain written consent from Target HCA before:

• Remortgaging to a new lender or product
• Letting the property (the scheme requires owner-occupation)
• Making significant structural alterations
• Selling the property (repayment happens simultaneously at completion)

Failure to obtain consent can place you in breach of your equity loan terms.

Using the Help to Buy Calculator

Our [Help to Buy calculator](/help-to-buy-calculator) allows you to estimate the current value of your equity loan based on your property's current market value, see how your management fee has increased, and plan for partial or full repayment. Enter your original loan percentage and an estimated current value to get an instant projection.

Key Takeaways

• The scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2023 — but existing loans continue under Target HCA
• Your loan is a percentage of current value, not a fixed sum
• Management fees begin in year six at 1.75% of original loan, rising by RPI+1% every April
• Repayment requires a RICS valuation based on current market value
• Always contact Target HCA before remortgaging or selling