Help to Buy ISA providers(Ultimate List)

In this brief blog, we are going to discuss what the Help to Buy ISA is, the benefits of the help to buy ISA and a list of help t buy ISA providers.

What is the help to buy ISA?

The help to buy ISA is a savings product which is offered by the UK government but provided through private banks which are registered and regulated in the UK by the Financial conduct authority and the prudential regulatory authority. The framework for the help to buy ISA is dictated by the UK government but different help to buy ISA providers will be able to offer different interest rates.

The help to buy ISA allows you to save some money which can allow you to get on the property ladder. The government also pays a bonus which gives you the extra help you need.

You can save a maximum of £12,000 with the help to buy ISA and receive a 25% government bonus from the government on your closing balance when you buy a home. This means you can earn a maximum government bonus of £3,000

You should know that you cannot use the help to buy ISA towards your mortgage deposit and the help to buy ISA bonus will only be paid after you have completed on your home purchase.

In your first month of saving with your help to buy ISA provider you can only save up to a maximum of £1,200 and then a maxim of £200 per month for every month after.

The interest offered and paid by the help to buy ISA provider may be a variable rate and this means it could change at any time.

The interest paid is separate from the government bonus you are eligible for on your help to buy ISA.

The Help to Buy ISA will end on November 2019 and you must claim your bonus by December 2030.

What are the eligibility requirements of the help to buy ISA?

The eligibility requirements of the help to buy ISA will not vary from one help to buy ISA provider to another as they are set by the UK Government.

To be eligible for the help to buy ISA you will need to meet the following requirements:

You must be over 16 years of age to be eligible for the help to buy ISA

You have not and will not go over your tax year ISA allowance. It is £20k for the 2019/2020 tax year

You cannot have another hep to buy ISA except you are closing your current help to buy ISA and transferring it to your new help to buy ISA account

You must have a national insurance number

You are a resident in the UK or can prove established residency via your tax obligations or through marriage or civil partnership with a UK resident

You cannot have another cash ISA in the same tax year except it is held with the same help to buy ISA provider who holds your help to buy ISA account. 

You don’t own any land or house anywhere in the world

You have not already received a help to buy ISA bonus except you have and it has been paid back to the relevant body due to your home purchase falling through and not being completed.

You cannot use the help to buy ISA if you intend to rent out the property

The maximum property price you can use the help to buy ISA on is £450,000 within London and £250,000 outside London

The help to buy ISA account can only have one holder

Which is the best bank for help to buy ISA?

There are various banks which are help to buy ISA providers but there isn’t one which stands out as the Help to buy ISA product is the same across all providers due to the framework being defined by the government. The best bank for the help to buy ISA may, therefore, be the one which offers the highest interest rate and the best customer service. Currently the best bank for the help to buy ISA in terms of interest rate is Penrith Building Society Help to Buy ISA with a 3% APR.

The other rates currently on offer from help to buy ISA providers are.

Penrith Building Society Help to Buy ISA 3% AER variable

Tipton & Coseley Help to Buy ISA (Local) 2.95% AER Variable

Vernon Help to Buy ISA 2.85% AER variable

Darlington Building Society Help to Buy ISA  2.8% AER variable

Cumberland Help to Buy ISA (Issue 3)  2.75%  AER variable

Tipton & Coseley Help to Buy ISA  2.6% AER variable

Barclays Help to Buy ISA  2.58% AER variable

Newcastle Building Society Help to Buy ISA  2.56% AER variable

Buckinghamshire Building Society Help to Buy ISA  2.5% AER variable

Nationwide Help to Buy ISA  2.5% AER variable

NatWest Help to Buy ISA  2.5% AER variable

Ulster Bank Help to Buy ISA  2.5%  AER variable

Virgin Money Help To Buy ISA  2.5% AER variable

Monmouthshire Building Society Help to Buy ISA 2.35% AER variable

Chelsea Building Society Help to Buy ISA  2.25% AER variable

Yorkshire Building Society Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

Halifax Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

HSBC Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

Nottingham Building Society Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

Progressive Building Society Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

Santander Help to Buy ISA (123) (Issue 3) Ex/C 2.25% AER variable

The West Brom Help to Buy ISA 2.25% AER variable

Aldermore Easy Access Help To Buy ISA (Issue 2) 2% AER variable

Clydesdale Bank Help to Buy ISA 2% AER variable

Yorkshire Bank Help to Buy ISA 2% AER variable

Chorley Building Society Help to Buy ISA 1.75%  AER variable

Santander Help to Buy ISA (Issue 3) 1.75% AER variable 

Bank of Scotland Help to Buy ISA 1.5% AER variable

Lloyds Bank Help to Buy ISA 1.5% AER variable

Which bank does help to buy scheme?

There are a variety of banks which do the help to buy scheme but this depends on if you are referring to banks which provide the help to buy ISA or banks which provide a help to buy mortgage.

The banks which offer the help to buy scheme mortgage include:

Barclays

Chorley Building Society

Cumbria Building Society

Leeds Building Society

Halifax

NatWest/RBS

Newbury Building Society

Santander

Teachers Building Society

Woolwich

Virgin Money

Post Office

Lloyds Bank

Santander

Can you use help to buy ISA for solicitor fees?

No, you cannot use the help to buy ISA for your solicitor fees or any indirect costs associated with buying a home.

Which mortgage providers do help to buy?

The below mortgage providers do the help to buy mortgage.

Barclays

Chorley Building Society

Cumbria Building Society

Leeds Building Society

Halifax

NatWest/RBS

Newbury Building Society

Santander

Teachers Building Society

Woolwich

Virgin Money

Post Office

Lloyds Bank

Help to buy ISA providers

Below is a list of help to buy ISA providers who currently provide the help to buy ISA. The terms of the help to buy ISA are dictated by the government and hence will remain the same across the different providers. This list of help to buy ISA providers is accurate at the time of writing but as you can appreciate this list may have changed since this guide was written and you can find an updated list of help to buy ISA providers here.

• Aldermore
• Bank of Scotland
• Barclays
• Buckinghamshire Building Society
• Chelsea Building Society
• Chorley Building Society
• Clydesdale Bank
• Cumberland Building Society
• Darlington Building Society
• Halifax
• HSBC
• Lloyds
• Monmouthshire Building Society
• Nationwide
• NatWest
• Penrith Building Society
• Progressive Building Society
• Newcastle Building Society
• Nottingham Building Society
• Santander
• Tipton & Coseley
• Ulster Bank
• Vernon Building Society
• Virgin Money
• West Bromwich Building Society
• Yorkshire Bank
• Yorkshire Building Society

Alternatives to the help to buy ISA

There are other government schemes which may be able to help you get on the property ladder aside from the help to buy ISA. They are listed below.

• Lifetime ISA– gives you a government bonus of £1,000 if you save the maximum £4,000 a year.
• Help to buy equity loan- gives you up to 40% as a 5-year interest-free equity loan. You begin to pay interest at 1.75 % after the fifth year and 1% plus RPI for every year thereafter.
• Shared ownership– You can buy between 25% to 75% of the property initially with a shared ownership mortgage and then buy more using a staircasing mortgage.
• Armed forces help to buy– similar to the help to buy equity loan but specific for the armed forces personnel giving them an increased chance of acceptance.
• Rent to buy– This is the right to buy scheme on which this guide is currently discussing. A different marketing name is just used. Watch out for this when shopping to avoid missing out on eligible properties due to confusion.
• Right to buy– allows you to buy your home at a discount price.
• Preserved right to buy– same as above.
• Right to acquire- same as above.

In this brief guide, we provided a comprehensive list of Help to buy ISA providers. If you have any comments or questions please let us know.

If you need financial advice and you live in the UK then you could contact the Money Advice service over the phone or via chat for impartial advice.

You can also contact the debt charity “Step Change” if you are in debt and need help.