Help to Buy Scotland

No. The Help to Buy (Scotland) schemes are closed, according to the Scottish Government, which points buyers to the Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, known as LIFT, instead (gov.scot, accessed 20 Oct 2026). New buyers in Scotland cannot apply for a Help to Buy equity stake on a new-build home.

Help to Buy Scotland worked differently from the England equity loan. The Scottish Government took a shared equity stake in the home rather than a loan with interest, and the buyer funded the rest with a deposit and a mortgage.

Homes bought under the scheme still carry the government's stake until it is bought out or repaid on a sale. Owners deal with the scheme's agent for any change, and the after-sale procedures are published by the Scottish Government.

Owners who bought through Help to Buy Scotland repay the Scottish Government's share when they sell the home, and can usually buy out the share earlier. The amount is the same percentage of the home's value at the time as the share taken at purchase, so a change in value changes the sum due (gov.scot, accessed 20 Oct 2026).

Buying out the share is often done with a remortgage, which needs a lender that will lend enough to clear it. A valuation sets the market value, and the scheme's agent confirms the figure before the legal work completes.

Remortgaging while keeping the government's share in place needs the lender to accept it. How remortgages work with an equity share, including part repayments, is explained on the Help to Buy remortgage page.

The Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, or LIFT, is the main shared equity route still open in Scotland. Through the Open Market Shared Equity scheme, the Scottish Government takes a share of a home for eligible buyers, who fund the rest with a deposit and a mortgage (gov.scot, accessed 20 Oct 2026).

LIFT is aimed at priority groups, such as first-time buyers on lower incomes, social renters and some armed forces personnel, with price thresholds that vary by area. Eligibility and the current thresholds are set by the Scottish Government and can change.

Some builders in Scotland also run their own shared equity or deposit-match offers, and lenders treat each one differently. A broker can check which lenders accept a particular scheme before a reservation is made.

A mortgage on a shared equity home in Scotland covers the buyer's share only, so the lender assesses the loan against that share. Not every lender accepts shared equity schemes, and those that do set rules on the share size, the deposit and the property type (gov.scot, accessed 20 Oct 2026).

Affordability is checked in the usual way, using income, outgoings and credit history, with a stress test of the payment. Lenders also check that the scheme's terms allow a sale or buyout without unusual restrictions.

Comparing lenders on their scheme criteria, as well as on rates, helps avoid a late decline. How lenders differ on equity loan cases is set out on the Help to Buy lenders page.