Forces Help to Buy (FHTB)
If you’re serving in the UK Armed Forces, Forces Help to Buy offers a genuinely interest-free way to fund your deposit and buying costs – now a permanent, established scheme, not a temporary trial you might have seen described elsewhere.
What Forces Help to Buy Actually Is
Forces Help to Buy is an interest-free advance of salary, available to eligible Regular Service personnel, letting you borrow up to 50% of your annual salary, including specialist pay, capped at a maximum of £25,000. Originally launched in 2014 as a trial, the scheme has since been made a permanent, enduring policy, so it’s genuinely here to stay rather than something with an expiry date to watch for.
Who Can Apply
You’ll need to be Regular Service personnel in the Army, RAF, or Royal Navy and Royal Marines, having completed the required minimum length of service, with more than six months left to serve at the time you apply. Reservists and members of the Military Provost Guard Service aren’t eligible. Your marital or civil partnership status doesn’t affect eligibility at all – the scheme is equally open to single personnel.
Medical Fitness Requirements
Applicants need to meet the medical standards set out in the relevant Joint Service Publication, without restrictions that would impact housing suitability, though exceptions can apply for specific circumstances. It’s worth checking your current status with your chain of command or the FHTB team directly if you’re uncertain.
How Much You Can Borrow
The loan is calculated as 50% of your annual salary including specialist pay, up to the £25,000 maximum. As a worked example, someone on a £40,000 salary could potentially access up to £20,000. Average successful applicants borrow in the region of £15,000.
What the Loan Can Be Used For
FHTB funds can go toward your deposit, solicitor fees, estate agent fees, and Stamp Duty Land Tax – essentially the range of costs involved in actually completing a property purchase, not just the headline deposit figure. Most major mortgage lenders will accept FHTB funds as part of your deposit, though it’s worth confirming this with your specific lender or broker before relying on it.
How Repayment Works
The loan is repaid over a period of up to 10 years, taken automatically through payroll deductions, so there’s genuinely nothing manual to manage each month. As an illustrative example, borrowing £12,000 over 10 years works out at roughly £100 a month.
Property Requirements
The property must be intended as your own residence, or that of your immediate family, and can be a house, bungalow, flat, or maisonette, either new-build or an existing property. FHTB isn’t intended for buy-to-let or second-home purchases, and you generally can’t have owned another property within 50 miles of your target purchase within the past year, since the scheme is aimed at first-time buyers and those genuinely relocating.
The Overseas Posting Exception
If you’re posted overseas at the time of your application and purchase, an exception applies to the requirement that the property be for your immediate occupation, recognising that your circumstances genuinely differ from someone based in the UK throughout the process.
Letting the Property Out Later
While FHTB can’t be used to buy a property specifically as a rental investment, you can subsequently let the property out if you’re later posted elsewhere requiring a move of more than 50 miles, subject to the appropriate sign-off. It’s worth understanding this distinction clearly – the restriction is on the original purchase intent, not a permanent ban on ever letting the property.
Using FHTB to Extend an Existing Property
In certain extenuating circumstances – typically where your family’s needs have genuinely changed – FHTB can be used to extend or modify a property you already own, rather than purely for a new purchase. This isn’t intended for general home improvements, so it’s worth understanding the specific circumstances that qualify before assuming this route applies to you.
A Genuine Tax Point Worth Understanding
HMRC classes the FHTB advance as a “beneficial loan.” If your FHTB loan, combined with any other beneficial loans you receive in the same tax year – such as an Advance of Pay or Long Service Advance of Pay – exceeds £10,000 in total, it can become liable for tax. It’s worth being aware of this threshold if you’re considering combining FHTB with other forms of salary advance.
If You Leave Service Before Repaying in Full
If you leave the Armed Forces before your FHTB loan is fully repaid, the outstanding balance becomes due, though your terminal benefits can typically be used to help clear it. If the balance is converted to Crown Debt, it generally needs to be repaid in full before any future FHTB loan could be granted.
How to Apply
Applications are made through the Joint Personnel Administration self-service system, or via JPA Form E035 if you don’t have permanent JPA access, forwarded to the Defence Business Services Military Personnel FHTB Section. It’s worth applying at least six weeks ahead of your expected purchase completion date, since the application needs to be reviewed by your Unit HR, Medical Officer, and Commanding Officer before approval, though processing itself is often completed within days once submitted, with full payment possible within 2-6 weeks.
Combining FHTB With a Mortgage
FHTB is designed to work alongside a standard mortgage, not replace one – you’ll still need to secure mortgage finance for the remainder of the purchase price. It’s worth telling your broker upfront that you’re using FHTB, since not every lender treats it identically, and working with someone experienced in military circumstances – including postings, BFPO addresses, and allowances like X-Factor pay – can genuinely help when it comes to affordability assessment. Our First Time Buyer Mortgages page covers the wider range of schemes worth considering alongside FHTB if this is your first purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Forces Help to Buy still available, or has it ended?
It’s genuinely still available – the scheme was made a permanent, enduring policy in December 2022, rather than the temporary trial it originally launched as.
How much can I borrow through FHTB?
Up to 50% of your annual salary including specialist pay, capped at a maximum of £25,000.
Do I need to be married or have children to qualify?
No – your marital or civil partnership status doesn’t affect eligibility, and the scheme is equally open to single service personnel.
Can I use FHTB to buy a buy-to-let property?
No – the property must be intended as your own or your immediate family’s residence, though you can let it out later if a subsequent posting requires you to move more than 50 miles away.
What happens to my FHTB loan if I leave the Armed Forces before it’s repaid?
The outstanding balance becomes due, though your terminal benefits can typically be used to help clear it.
Get in touch with details of your service length and circumstances, and we’ll help you understand how FHTB fits alongside your mortgage options.
