The government has said changes to the Help to Buy due on 1 April 2021 will go ahead as planned and run until March 2023.

This new scheme will be for first-time buyers only and there will be regional caps in place for the value of homes.

Because of delays in the housing market caused by Covid-19, the government announced on 31 July there would be a two-month extension to the building completion deadline from 31 December 2020 to 28 February 2021. The legal completion deadline for the purchase remains 31 March 2021.

An extra measure was also introduced to protect existing customers who have experienced severe delays as a result of coronavirus.

Homes England, which administers Help to Buy, will work with those who had a reservation in place before 30 June to assess their situation and may provide an extension where necessary. In which case, they will have until 31 May 2021 to legally complete.

Secretary of state for housing, communities and local government Christopher Pincher MP says: “We believe these measures provide sufficient time for developers to build out homes delayed by Covid-19 and protect customers whose purchases have been significantly delayed. There are no plans to extend the current scheme further.”

Pincher confirmed this in response to a question from Andrea Leadsom MP who asked whether the Help to Buy scheme in its current format will be extended until April 2022.