What is the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme (Freedom to Buy)? It's a permanent government scheme, made permanent in July 2025 under the “Freedom to Buy” branding, that lets you buy with a 5% deposit on properties up to £600,000. The government guarantees part of the loan to the lender, not to you — you're still fully responsible for repayments. It's available to first-time buyers and home movers, on repayment mortgages only, through over 500 participating lenders including all the major high street banks.
The scheme itself doesn't relax credit assessment — you still need to pass the lender's normal affordability and credit checks, and most mainstream lenders offering it use standard automated scoring. If you have a CCJ, default or other adverse credit, a specialist lender's own 95% LTV product, assessed manually, is usually a stronger route than trying to fit a mainstream lender's Freedom to Buy criteria around a credit issue it isn't designed to accommodate.
Not with everything. You can't combine it with shared ownership, a guarantor mortgage, or an offset mortgage, and interest-only isn't accepted. It can work alongside a Lifetime ISA for your deposit, since the ISA simply boosts what you're putting down rather than changing the mortgage structure itself.
Up to £600,000, with no restriction to new-build properties — unlike the old Help to Buy scheme, Freedom to Buy applies to existing homes too. You don't apply for the scheme directly; it operates behind the scenes between the government and the lender, so from your side it looks like any standard 95% LTV mortgage application.
No credit search. No obligation. Darryl personally reviews every enquiry and responds within 2 hours.
Lender criteria, rates and deposit requirements quoted on this page are indicative and subject to change without notice. Individual circumstances vary. This page provides general information only and does not constitute regulated financial advice. The Mortgage Geezer is a trading style of Access Financial Services Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Financial Services Register number is 301173. Registered in England No. 04427489. Registered office address Access Financial Services Ltd, Unit 1 Furtho Court, Towcester Road, Old Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK19 6AN. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP YOUR REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER LOAN SECURED AGAINST IT.