What housing schemes are available to police workers?

If you’re a UK police officer or work for the police force in a different role, you could qualify for one of many housing schemes. These housing schemes are designed to help you buy property, especially if you’re a first-home buyer.

We discuss three of the best housing schemes that police workers could use to help them buy property below. For more information on these schemes or to get tailored police mortgage broker services, reach out to Public Sector Mortgages today.

#1: Help to Buy Scheme

The Help to Buy Scheme is aimed at anyone who wants to buy their first home but doesn’t have a standard 20% deposit. With just a 5% deposit, the government will provide up to 20% of the purchase price (40% in London) to help with the deposit for a first home. This is loaned to you interest-free for the first five years and must be repaid within 25 years or beforehand if the property is sold.

There are limits on how much the property can cost, but these limits differ by region. This scheme is the main scheme to help first-home buyers right now. Consequently, it has already helped scores of police workers to get two feet firmly on the property ladder.

#2: Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) Scheme

The Forces Help to Buy Scheme allows people serving in a force to get up to 50% of their annual gross salary (up to £25,000) as an interest-free loan to help buy property. The property being purchased doesn’t necessarily have to be a first home. The serving personnel must have worked in the force for at least one year and have at least six months on their contract. The FHTB Scheme can be used in conjunction with other schemes, including the Help to Buy Scheme. Almost 30,000 people are estimated to have used this housing scheme to date. It was made permanent in 2022.

#3: Shared Ownership Scheme

The Shared Ownership Scheme allows people to buy a share in a property when they cannot afford the deposit and/or mortgage payments on 100% of the property. You can only buy a share in one of select properties if you plan on making it your permanent residence. You will usually need to buy between 25% and 75% of the home and pay a proportional amount of rent on the percentage of the property you don’t own (which a landlord owns). Some properties allow you to purchase just 10% of the property. If your police officer career progresses or you manage to save, you can then purchase more of the property, called “staircasing”.