What to do if a Help to buy application is declined

When referring to your help to buy application being declined:

  1. You are either referring to being declined by the help to buy mortgage lender or
  2. Being declined by the regional help to buy agent or provider

If you are declined by the help to buy mortgage lender:

Being declined for a mortgage means you are not eligible for the mortgage with that mortgage lender. This could be because you have adverse credit such as county court judgement, a bankruptcy order, a default or an involuntary agreement.

You should seek independent advice from a help to buy mortgage lender.

If your help to buy application is declined by the help to buy agent or provider

If your help to buy application is rejected by the help to buy agent it is likely you didn’t meet the eligibility requirement for the help to buy scheme. If it is rejected by the provider, you should ask them why.

What to do if your help to buy equity loan application was declined

If you have been rejected for the help to buy equity loan and you fill you should have been accepted as you are eligible then you should contact your local help to buy agent explaining where the discrepancy is and providing evidence to back up your claim.

To be eligible for the help to buy equity loan you will need:

  • To be a UK resident
  • To be a first-time buyer. You may need to sign a first time buyer declaration form.
  • To be purchasing a new build home
  • You cannot be buying the property for buy to let purposes and you cannot rent any part of the home out
  • You cannot have any overdue payments on any loans, any county court judgments (CCJs) against you for more than £500
  • You cannot have a bankruptcy order within the last 3 years.
  • You will need a minimum 5% mortgage deposit
  • Your maximum house price should be £600,000

What to do if your help to buy ISA application was declined

It is very unlikely your help to buy ISA application would be declined because the help to buy ISA is a savings but if it is you should ask the product provider why it was declined.

It could simply be that you didn’t meet the requirements or maybe there was something of concern of your credit file.

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

  • To be a UK resident
  • To be a first-time buyer
  • To only have one ISA account although you can switch to a help to buy ISA
  • To be purchasing a new build home

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.