Buying your first home is a huge milestone. It should be an exciting time and an achievement to be proud of. But for many people in the UK, it’s something that’s out of reach. For those who are looking to become homeowners, the process is far from exciting. Instead, the process is often long, slow and riddled with obstacles. In this article, we’re going to examine whether government housing schemes are helping with this problem or adding to it.
The launch of the Prosper UK housing commission demonstrates that Britain’s housing crisis continues to loom large despite the government’s efforts. If schemes, like the Help to Buy, are supposed to make buying a property more accessible to first-time buyers, why is it still so hard?
These schemes reinforce the desirability of home ownership, thereby increasing the demand for a home without increasing the supply. As a result, houses are unaffordable for many first-time buyers. Steve Reed, pushing a ‘build, baby, build’ agenda, might just be too late. The lack of housing stock is an undeniable part of the problem, but so too is the complexity of buying a home in the UK. Many simply do not understand the process, which is becoming as much of a barrier as price itself.
From a first-time buyer, government schemes look great. Help to Buy (2013–2022) allowed first-time buyers to purchase a property with just a 5% deposit. Proved successful at driving demand in the housing market, enabling individuals to get mortgages more easily. Last year, the government confirmed a long-term mortgage guarantee scheme as part of its wider housing strategy. Although this guarantee fixes the financial side of buying a house, there is a lack of a corresponding increase in house supply. Even Steve Reed admitted that delivering 1.5 million homes will be “challenging”.
Studies have shown that government schemes have had a direct negative impact on the housing market. The Office for Budget Responsibility, for example, found that house prices increased due to an increase in purchasing power, especially in areas where housing supply was already constrained, such as London. Help to Buy was therefore more beneficial to developers selling to first-time buyers because developers were able to sell their homes at inflated prices rather than help individuals get onto the ladder. As the government rolls out new schemes, the past evidence seems to be forgotten.
This inflation of house prices is further compounded by relative wage stagnation. Income has not grown at nearly the same rate as house prices. In the late 1990s, a house cost around 4 times the average salary; now, house prices are around 8 times the average income (at least).
Alongside affordability and supply, an overlooked barrier is the complexity of the conveyancing process. Especially for first-time buyers, desperate to get onto the property ladder, the conveyancing process can be tricky to understand. First-time buyers often do not know what to look out for to prevent mistakes being made, or spotting them early when they are made.
Many mistakes occur during the conveyancing process. The most common include: overlooking restrictions that limit expansions or alterations to the property; missing flood risks or nearby developments; missing important deadlines; and failing to update buyers on what is required of them. The simplest solution is to better educate first-time buyers; solicitors like Bond Turner that deal with housing repair claims are seeing an increase in these types of claims, which could be linked to things being missed in the conveyancing process due to a lack of education.
However, with a higher volume of transactions and strict deadlines, conveyancers are under increasing pressure. This increases the chances of miscommunication or oversight. The issue may not be because of a lack of professionalism, but capacity within a system that has not adapted to modern demand.
First-time buyers are four times more likely to file a complaint with conveyancing negligence solicitors than experienced buyers. While these issues aren’t feeding the housing crisis, they are a symptom of a system under strain. In this sense, the challenge is not just accessing housing, but successfully securing it.
The underlying point here is that Britain doesn’t need more schemes to buy homes. Britain needs more homes that people can actually afford, alongside a system that makes those homes easy to secure.
The proposed £39-billion ‘affordable housing’ programme shows intent, but the affordable house is usually offered to councils or housing associations for individuals on universal credit. These houses are therefore not available to young people trying to get onto the property ladder. The main solution to this problem is for the government to resist the temptation to continue to use schemes like Help to Buy to prevent prices from increasing further.
If the government is serious about improving access to home ownership, they need to make the process easier. Here are some examples of how the government could make the process easier.
First, important information about a property, such as restrictions and any potential risks, must be presented in a way that is easily understandable and not obscured by legal jargon. This will ensure buyers, in particular first-time buyers, know exactly what they’re purchasing.
Second, the introduction of a fully digital conveyancing system would allow all parties involved in the transaction to be able to track the progress and identify any outstanding actions. Such a system would create transparency and reduce delays that arise from complex and confusing conveyancing systems.
There’s no doubt that the housing crisis in the UK is still visible, and no group is being impacted more than those looking to buy their first property. Those outside of this group could be forgiven for thinking that there is an abundance of help available for first-time buyers, and while this isn’t necessarily untrue, it could be argued that government schemes are creating a whole bunch of separate issues, with the main one being that buying your first home is now incredibly complex, not just expensive.
The supply of homes is important; until the government simplifies the process of buying a home, getting onto the property ladder will remain out of reach for many individuals in the UK.
© 2025 Crivva - Hosted by Airy Hosting Managed Website Hosting.
