Sunak considers radical plan for 99% mortgages to help first-time buyers

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The government is considering a radical scheme to help first-time buyers by guaranteeing mortgages which would require just 1 per cent deposits. The audacious measure would be a significant extension of the government’s previous Help to Buy scheme – which saw Britons able to purchase new build developments with only 5 per cent deposits. Asked about the Tory proposal for 1 per cent deposits, the senior Labour figure told The Independent: “The truth of this issue is that you can’t have a serious housing policy without a real plan to drive up supply.” The Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said it “beggars belief” for the Tories to try to make home ownership an election issue “after they sent mortgage rates spiralling”. “We should have the opportunity to buy our landlord out on favourable terms.” A Treasury spokesperson said the existing mortgage guarantee scheme providing a 95 per cent LTV mortgage “has so far enabled over 39,000 households to buy a home – over 86 per cent of which are first time buyers”.