UK launches "Your First Home" loan scheme for households earning £110K.

Households earning less than £110,000 a year – or less than £140,000 for homes in London – will be eligible for the government’s new “Your First Home” loan scheme, the prime minister announced on Tuesday. The scheme, due to be detailed at next week’s Budget, will offer equity loans covering 20 % of the price of new‑build properties in England, with an initial interest‑free period and deposits as low as 2.5 %.

The move comes after criticism of earlier first‑time‑buyer programmes that did not limit eligibility by income. Those schemes were said to inflate house prices by allowing relatively affluent families to borrow large sums. Labour’s policy team originally set the earnings caps at £90,000 outside London and £110,000 in the capital, but raised them after pressure from middle‑earning professionals such as teachers and nurses. The party says the new limits will focus help on those who “really need support”.

Developers who join the scheme will be asked to contribute to its running costs, and the Home Builders Federation has welcomed the proposal, urging a swift rollout. Labour says the programme will be funded from existing government budgets, though it has not yet identified which other spending streams will be trimmed. The Conservatives have slammed the plan as a “colossal admission of failure” in Labour’s house‑building record and warned that the developer levy could push up new‑home prices.

If implemented, the scheme could also boost housebuilding after ministers admitted they will miss the target of 1.5 million new homes by the next election. By tying loans to property values, the model mirrors the Help to Buy equity‑loan programme that ran from 2013 to 2021, which allowed buyers to put down a 5 % deposit and receive a 20 % loan interest‑free for five years. Labour hopes the new rules will steer more modest‑income families onto the property ladder while supporting the stalled construction sector.