I’m pleased to see the Government has listened to housebuilders and has announced a short extension to the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.

The previous construction deadline was set for the end of December, but this has now been extended to February 28 2021 to ease pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

It means that those people who have reserved properties can sleep more easily knowing that we have an extra eight weeks to finish building their beautiful new home in order for them to qualify for the scheme.

The deadline for the legal completion of the sale will remain the same – 31 March 2021.

The Government says that where necessary, further extensions may be granted for homebuyers who have experienced severe delays because of the pandemic and reserved properties before June 30. These buyers will get an extension to complete their purchases by May 31 2021.

Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme has been hugely successful in helping more than 250,000 people onto the property ladder – and demand for the scheme remains high. Our construction teams have worked extremely hard over the last few months to ensure that people can move in as soon as possible and we will continue to focus our efforts on building the new homes that this country so desperately needs.

This announcement applies to the scheme in England, which is administered by the UK Government, and not to similar schemes in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.