First-time buyers using help-to-buy scheme must reserve property by end of October

New homeowners face deadline two months earlier to access government-backed equity loan

First-time buyers who want to take advantage of the government's help-to-buy scheme will have to reserve a property by the end of October, it has emerged - two months earlier than had been expected.

The scheme, which offers an equity loan to buyers to enable them to buy a new-build property with a deposit of just 5%, is set to end in March 2023 - a decade after it was launched to kickstart the housing market after the financial crisis.