Affordable Homes in London

Your Options Explained

FIRST STEPS offers a range of housing options to Londoners who cannot afford to get a foot on the housing ladder. These are provided by a range of housing associations and household named builders building new homes in the capital.

With FIRST STEPS you have the option to either buy or rent. If you wish to buy a property there are two main products available – shared ownership or equity loans.

FIRST STEPS shared ownership enables you to purchase a home from a housing association. You purchase the maximum share in the property that you can afford with a minimum requirement of 25% and pay rent on the remaining share. Properties are either brand new or being sold by existing shared owners. The rent on the outstanding share is set at a maximum of 3% of the value of the share.

FIRST STEPS equity loans enables you to buy a brand new property from a housebuilder with the help of an equity loan from the Mayor of London and the housebuilder. There are two products currently available – FirstBuy and HomeBuy Direct.

With FirstBuy you purchase a minimum of 80% of the property with a mortgage and a deposit. You need to be able to raise a minimum deposit equivalent to 5% of the value of the property. No fee will be charged on the loan for the first five years. After that you will pay a fee on each of the equity loans of 1.75%, rising annually by the increase in the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 1%.

With HomeBuy Direct you purchase a minimum of 70% of the property with a mortgage and a deposit. You need to be able to raise a minimum deposit equivalent to 5% of the value of the property. No fee will be charged on the loan for the first five years. After that you will pay a fee on each of the equity loans of 1.75%, rising annually by the increase in the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 1%. PLEASE NOTE: there are a limited number of properties left in London available via this product.