First Homes

First Homes is a government initiative designed to help first time buyers onto the property ladder, by offering homes at a discount of 30% off the market price.

Current situation

As of the end of August 2021, no housing developers in Leicester had advised us of their intention to provide First Homes on sites currently under construction. There were also no sites with planning consent for First Homes in the city at this early stage of this initiative. 

We expect to see First Homes built in Leicester, as the industry brings forward new schemes through the current transitional period, but information is not yet available on when First Homes will be built in Leicester and by whom.      

The government advise that First Homes will be offered on a limited number of plots in most new developments once the scheme is fully up and running.

If you’re interested in buying a First Home, you will first need to check whether a builder is currently including First Homes as part of their development. If yes, you must qualify through the eligibility criteria and apply through the builder. The government has provided information on the First Homes eligibility criteria, which is available at the link below.

Potential local measures

We are currently assessing available evidence to establish whether we will introduce any local enhancement measures to the national First Homes criteria in Leicester. Potential local measures include a discount of more than 30% on the purchase price of First Homes and/or introducing a local connection and/or key worker requirement to the eligibility criteria for First Homes. This evidence assessment is being carried out as part of our new Local Plan process and its results will be available in due course. We will be producing an interim statement to outline how planning policy will be applied once more detail is available.

Until then, any First Homes coming forward in Leicester will be in line with the government’s national minimum discount (30%) and eligibility criteria.

More information

Further information on this scheme can be found at ownyourownhome.gov.uk.