Everything you need to know about the New Build Boost scheme

Buying for the first time can be tough in the current climate. Coupled with the usual feelings of uncertainty, overwhelm and confusion, the process can be a stressful experience - especially if you’re buying for the first time.

This is where Gen H’s New Build Boost scheme comes in. If you’re saving up to purchase a Persimmon home, then you could receive an interest-free boost of 15%, speeding up your buying journey and allowing you to buy a bigger home. This means an extra bedroom, a larger garden or even a dining room!

But what is this scheme, and how does it help? And how does it compare to others currently available? We’ll explore the New Build Boost in more detail below.

The New Build Boost is a home-buying scheme from Gen H, released in 2025 and applicable to new builds. Through the scheme, you can add to your down payment and buy your dream property faster than you planned, thanks to the 15% boost.

You’ll only need to repay the boost if you re-mortgage, sell your home, or at the end of your mortgage term. There’s no interest to pay, no penalties and no contractual payments, so you can feel more confident when making an offer on your first property.

If you have a small deposit and will likely be hindered by constraints because of it, a 15% boost could make all the difference.

How does New Build Boost work?

As part of the scheme, if you have a 5% deposit, you receive a 15% boost, giving you a total of 20% towards your home. This means you can secure an 80% mortgage and could purchase a bigger, better home than you might have been able to otherwise.

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

If the house you’re after is £300k, and you have a deposit of £15k (5%), Gen H could offer an interest-free boost of £45k (15%). This then leaves you with a £240k mortgage (80% loan-to-value - essentially, your mortgage rate).

To benefit from the scheme you’ll need to meet the mortgage eligibility requirements, and use one of the specific mortgage rates that Gen H offers.

Buying your first home and not sure how mortgages work? Read our mortgage guide for first-time buyers, and how they work. 

If you repay the full loan within the first five years, then you only ever pay what you borrowed. If you don’t repay after this period of time, then the balance may increase with the value of your property.

Which home-buying scheme is right for you?

New Build Boost by Gen H is a great way to increase your budget, opening up your search and better your chances of finding a house that you love.

But how does it compare to other available schemes, such as Help to Buy and the Deposit Boost? And how do you know if it’s right for you?

Keep reading for more details about how they compare, and which one will help you step on the property ladder.

The New Build Boost scheme

We’ve already explored the scheme in detail, but we’ll summarise its pros and cons below to help you with your journey.

If you’ve been saving for your new house, the scheme could help you reach that homeownership goal sooner than you expect. You also have more choice - how about an extra bedroom or room for storage? Or maybe your own parking space?

Gen H has designed this scheme to help make the housing market more accessible, even if you have a small deposit. However, there are regional and price limits on when it can be used. For Persimmon, the scheme is available across selected developments and plots - speak to our team to find out which. You’ll also need to meet the standard mortgage eligibility criteria, which our team can also provide information on.

Help to Buy

The Help to Buy scheme ended in March 2023 for England and Scotland but is available for Wales until March 2025. There are also rumours of its return, which is why we’ve included the scheme in this guide.

This government-backed scheme is designed to help first-time buyers secure a mortgage for a new house, as well as existing homeowners looking to move up on the property ladder.

To be eligible for the scheme, you only need a 5% deposit minimum. The Welsh Government will then lend you an equity loan of up to 20% value of a property. This means that you can put down a larger deposit and speed up your journey.

Like the New Build Boost, it's interest-free. But, unlike the Gen H scheme, it’s only interest-free for the first five years. After this point, you start to pay interest equivalent to 1.75% - which increases each year.

Help To Buy Wales is available for all Welsh Persimmon developments that are below the £300,000 price cap. Your loan must be repaid when selling or at the end of its term. You can read more about the Help to Buy scheme here or on the government website.

Deposit Boost scheme

Another available home-buying scheme is Persimmon’s Deposit Boost, which helps increase your deposit while decreasing your monthly mortgage payments. It’s available to anyone with a larger deposit, whether you’re saving up to buy your first home or selling and moving on in your journey.

You’re eligible for a Deposit Boost if you have a 10% deposit saved. You’ll then receive a 5% boost, bringing you up to a 15% deposit - leaving you with an 85% mortgage rate. So, if you’ve already saved more than 5% and feel that the Gen H New Build Boost isn’t right for you, then you might find this scheme more valuable.

As an example, if you wanted to buy a property worth £300k and had a deposit of £30k (10%), we’ll add another £15k (5% of the property’s sale price). This would increase your deposit to 15%, leaving you with an 85% mortgage rate.

But keep in mind that this puts you in an even better position. A larger down payment will reduce your LTV (loan to value), meaning you’d be eligible for more competitive mortgages and lower interest rates. This applies to all of the schemes we’ve mentioned in this guide, but the Deposit Boost is a particularly great option if you already have a 10% deposit.

At Persimmon, we offer this scheme across select developments and plots to ensure that you can purchase the new house that you love. This speeds up your buying journey and can be the difference between two bedrooms and three. Read more about our Deposit Boost here.

Ready to start house hunting? Explore our housing developments here, and get in touch with our sales teams to find out whether you could use New Build Boost to buy your dream home.