How to Pay Off Your Help to Buy Equity Loan

To pay off your Help to Buy equity loan, you repay the government a percentage of your home’s current market value — matching the percentage you originally borrowed — through an application to Homes England supported by an independent RICS valuation and a conveyancer. You can clear the loan in full, make a partial repayment of at least 10% of your home’s value to shrink the government’s stake, or remortgage so your new mortgage covers the balance.¹

What You Actually Owe

The repayment figure is tied to what your home is worth now, not what you paid for it. If you took a 20% equity loan on a £200,000 home, you borrowed £40,000. If the home is worth £250,000 when you repay, you owe 20% of £250,000, which is £50,000.¹ If the home has fallen to £180,000, you owe 20% of that, which is £36,000 — less than you borrowed.²

Because your bill tracks the market, timing matters. In a rising area, waiting costs you money even before you factor in interest.

Your Three Repayment Options

Pay It Off in Full

A full repayment settles the entire equity loan in one transaction at the current percentage of market value. Once Homes England receives the funds, the government’s legal charge on your property is removed and no further interest accrues.

Make a Partial Repayment

If you can’t clear the whole loan, you can reduce the government’s stake through a partial repayment, sometimes called staircasing. The minimum partial repayment is 10% of your home’s current market value.³ On a £250,000 home, that means a minimum £25,000 payment, which drops the government’s equity share by 10 percentage points.

A smaller stake means a smaller base for future interest, so even one partial repayment lowers your ongoing monthly cost. You can repeat the process until the loan is cleared, but each round requires its own valuation and its own application.

Remortgage to Cover the Loan

Many borrowers repay by taking out a larger mortgage that absorbs both the existing mortgage and the equity loan. The new lender must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and lender fees cannot exceed £2,000, or Homes England may not approve the remortgage.⁴

Homes England also caps the loan-to-value on the new mortgage based on how much equity loan you took:

10% equity loan: maximum LTV of 85%
20% equity loan: maximum LTV of 75%
30% equity loan: maximum LTV of 65%
40% equity loan (London): maximum LTV of 55%

Remortgaging works best once you’ve built equity through mortgage payments or price growth.⁴ Your conveyancer prepares a Deed of Postponement, which Homes England must approve so the new mortgage sits as the first charge on the property.

The Steps From Valuation to Completion

1. Get a RICS Valuation

You need a valuation from a surveyor registered with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, prepared specifically for the equity loan repayment. A valuation done for mortgage or bank purposes will not be accepted.⁵

The report is valid for three months. If you miss that window, you can request a desktop valuation from the same surveyor to extend validity by another three months from the original expiry date, but you must ask within two weeks of the report expiring. Miss both windows and you’ll pay for a fresh valuation.⁵

2. Hire a Conveyancer and Submit Your Application

A solicitor or licensed conveyancer handles the legal side: liaising with Homes England, moving the money, and getting the charge discharged.⁶ You complete the Help to Buy: Equity Loan repayment application form, giving your property details, your conveyancer’s contact information, and authority for them to act for you. If you’re paying from your own funds, you also include evidence of where that money is coming from.

The form, the valuation report, and a £200 administration fee go to Homes England’s customer service team by email.⁷ Any arrears on your account have to be cleared at this point too.

3. Redemption Letter and Authority to Complete

Homes England reviews what you’ve sent and aims to issue a redemption letter to you and your conveyancer within four weeks.⁸ That letter sets out the final settlement figure. Your conveyancer then sends a letter of undertaking confirming the completion date, the home’s value, and agreement to pay the correct amount. Homes England responds with an Authority to Complete, which locks in the payment date and amount.

4. Transfer Funds and Close the Account

On the agreed date, your conveyancer sends the money, either from your savings or from the new mortgage lender. Once Homes England has the funds, it starts the process of removing its charge from your property title at HM Land Registry. Your conveyancer provides a completion statement on headed paper confirming the account is closed.⁶ From that moment, the government holds no financial interest in your home and no further interest builds up.

Costs to Budget For

Homes England administration fee of £200, due with the application, plus any arrears on your account.
RICS valuation, typically in the region of £250 to £500 depending on property size and location. A fresh repayment application needs a fresh valuation, and a second valuation is needed if the first expires without a desktop extension.
Conveyancer fees, usually several hundred pounds, and more if you’re remortgaging at the same time.
Remortgage lender fees, which must stay under £2,000 in total for Homes England to approve the deal.⁴

When You Have to Repay — and Why Sooner Often Beats Later

You must repay the equity loan in full when you sell the home, pay off your main mortgage, or reach the end of the 25-year loan term, whichever comes first.¹

For the first five years you pay no interest, only a £1 monthly management fee. Interest starts in year six at 1.75% of the amount you originally borrowed and rises every April after that, with the exact uplift depending on whether you bought under the 2013–2021 scheme or the 2021–2023 scheme.¹ Those yearly increases compound. Combined with the fact that your bill moves with market value, that’s why most borrowers who can afford it look to repay or at least staircase down well before the 25 years run out.

1
GOV.UK. Help to Buy: Equity Loan
2
GOV.UK. A Guide to Repaying Your Help to Buy: Equity Loan
3
GOV.UK. Repay Your Help to Buy: Equity Loan
4
GOV.UK. How to Remortgage Your Help to Buy Home and Borrow More Money
5
GOV.UK. How to Get a Valuation of Your Help to Buy Home
6
GOV.UK. How to Repay Your Equity Loan Using Your Own Money
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GOV.UK. Help to Buy: Equity Loan Repayment Application Form
8
GOV.UK. Help to Buy: Equity Loan Repayment Application Checklist