Stranded starters have been thrown to life after the government allowed a second extension of Help to Buy’s practical completion deadline.
Strikes, supply chain problems and utility problems mean that about 100 of the last homes sold under the scheme would not have sold. ready in time for their buyers to receive the stock loans necessary to complete their purchases.
In these cases, stranded buyers would lose their home and might not be able to afford another one without the scheme.
The Help to Buy scheme meant that first-time buyers could buy a new-build home with a down payment of 5%. and a loan of 20 per cent. (40 pc in London). The scheme is closed to new registrations in October and all transactions must be legally completed by March 31.
But before that, builders had to meet a practical completion deadline of December 31 – this was the deadline for the buildings to be completed. After widespread warnings that many builders would miss this deadlinein early December, the government extended it to January 31.
This month, builders and home buyers warned that many properties would fall short of the new deadline, forcing the government to extend another six weeks to March 17.
In a letter to the Home Builders Federation trade body, Housing Secretary Lucy Frazer warned there would be “no clemency” by the March 31 statutory completion deadline.
She added that the government was aware of a number of cases where developments are being delayed by long-standing issues that are unlikely to be resolved by this deadline. In these cases, developers should refund customers’ booking fees as quickly as possible, Ms. Frazer said.
A government spokesman said: “Supporting aspiring homeowners is a government priority. We’ve extended the Help to Buy deadline to March 17 to make sure people don’t lose their homes because developers missed the build deadline.
“Home builders must ensure all construction work is completed by this date and the legal completion deadline remains March 31.”