How to change ownership of your Help to Buy home
How you can add, remove or replace one or more homeowners, with a process known as a Transfer of Equity.
Making changes to your equity loan or mortgage
Before you make any changes to your equity loan or repayment mortgage, you need to understand how those changes may affect you. You should think about getting independent financial advice.
If you are paying monthly interest or management fees, you should keep making these payments.
You’ll need to settle any outstanding payments, or set up a payment plan with us, before we can continue with your request to change ownership.
Add, replace or remove a homeowner
With our permission, you can add or remove a homeowner from your equity loan contract.
Add a homeowner
If you are adding a new homeowner, they will also need to be eligible for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan.
This means they must:
- be a first-time homebuyer
- not own a home or land now or in the past, in the UK or abroad
- not have had any form of Sharia mortgage
All homeowners must successfully complete an eligibility check before they can be added to the equity loan contract. If the new homeowner does not meet the criteria, their application to be added could be refused.
Remove a homeowner
One of the original homeowners on the equity loan must stay the same until the equity loan is repaid in full. The homeowners named on the equity loan must be the same as those on the repayment mortgage.
Usually, you’ll only be able to change a homeowner on the equity loan twice during the loan’s lifetime.
Any homeowner that stays on the contract will need to show that they can afford it.
If you’re increasing the length of your repayment mortgage at the same time as changing names, the equity loan term may be changed to match the term of the repayment mortgage.
Replace a homeowner
To replace a homeowner on the equity loan contract, you’ll need to add a homeowner and remove a homeowner in one application. Find out how to apply.
Before you apply
You’ll need this information to apply for a change of ownership.
1. Contact details, ID and proof of income
Original homeowner
You’ll need:
- your contact details and your solicitor’s contact details
- permission from your repayment mortgage lender to change ownership - this can be a copy of the letter or email
New homeowner
You’ll need:
- your contact details
- proof of identity – for example, passport, birth certificate, driving license or HM Forces identity card. Your solicitor will need to certify these
- proof of address – for example, a bank statement or utility bill within the last 3 months
Both homeowners
You’ll need to supply proof of income. This includes:
- copies of your last 3 months’ wage slips and most recent P60 tax form if you’re employed
- copies of your SA302 form or 4 years’ accounts if you’re self-employed – we’ll accept a mix if you’re newly self-employed
- details of any additional income - for example, bonuses, commission or pension
- details of household and personal expenditure - for example, car loans or credit card payments
If you intend to borrow more on your repayment mortgage when you change the named homeowners on the equity loan, the funds will need to be in place before you apply.
For example, if you’re changing from joint to sole ownership, you’ll need to show that you can afford the new mortgage yourself.
See how to remortgage your Help to Buy home and borrow more for more information.
2. Arrange money to pay the administration fee
You will need to pay a £50 administration fee before we can process your application.
3. Find a conveyancing solicitor
We’ll need your conveyancing solicitors’ details on the application form.
You can either:
- find a solicitor on the Law Society’s website
- ask your lender if they can instruct their own solicitor to act for both of you
If you intend to borrow more on your repayment mortgage to remove a homeowner and increase your share in your home, let your solicitor know how much you’ll need to borrow and arrange this with your mortgage lender.
Pay any arrears
If you are behind with your equity loan payments, we will not allow you to change the ownership.
Make sure you fully pay off anything you owe or contact us on the details below to set up a payment plan.
How to apply
Follow these steps if you want to change who owns your home.
1. Contact us
You’ll need to tell us:
- if you want to make changes to the homeowners on your equity loan
- if you want to borrow more on your repayment mortgage.
Contact us and we’ll explain the next steps, and provide you with an application form.
2. Get your paperwork ready
Get everything in our checklist ready.
3. Send us your paperwork and application form
You can send us everything in the post or by email, using the details above.
Try to include all your documents in one letter or email, as we may have to delay making a decision if we do not have all the details.
4. Pay the administration fee
After you’ve sent us your application form, you’ll have to pay a £50 administration fee.
You can pay by:
- online bank transfer
- debit or credit card by calling 0345 848 0325
- cheque
If you pay online, you must tell us using the contact details above when you’ve paid so we can confirm it on your customer file.
We’re open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday (not UK bank holidays).
We can’t progress your application until we’ve received this payment.
Payment details
| Bank name | HSBC |
|---|---|
| Account/payee name | Elderbridge RE: HCA |
| Sort code | 40-05-30 |
| Account number | 14290879 |
| Reference | Your customer reference number or the first line of your address and postcode |
5. Getting a decision
We’ll contact you with a decision by email or post within 5 working days of receiving all your completed documents.
If your application is accepted or declined
If your application is successful, we’ll send you an approval letter. This will include the results of your eligibility check and the terms and conditions of the equity loan.
Your solicitor will receive the Transfer of Equity paperwork that they must complete.
If you need to borrow more on your repayment mortgage to increase your share in the property, you’ll need our permission. Read more about remortgaging and borrowing more.
If your application is declined
You’ll receive a letter from us explaining why we declined your request.
Complete the change of ownership process
Your solicitor will work with us to complete the next stages of the process.
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They will complete the documents in the Transfer of Equity pack and return the documents to us.
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We will review the information and return your documents to your solicitor along with an Authority to Complete form.
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Your solicitor will register the change of ownership with the Land Registry.