First Time Buyer ISA: Treasury publishes consultation response

HM Treasury published its response to the First Time Buyer ISA consultation on 28 October 2026, taking forward plans for a new savings product to support first-time homebuyers in the UK. The publication follows a consultation that closed on 18 August 2026.

What would the First Time Buyer ISA change?

The Treasury’s stated plan is for the First Time Buyer ISA to be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA once the new product becomes available. Its consultation described the proposed account as a simpler way to support people saving to buy their first home.

The consultation page now records the exercise as concluded and provides a 15-page government response. The update published on 28 October added a summary of the outcome, rather than opening a further round of consultation.

How the consultation developed

According to the Treasury’s published timetable, the consultation began at 10am on 22 June 2026. The government webpage was first published on 23 June, and an update on 29 June set the closing date at 18 August, with responses accepted until 11.59pm that day.

The Treasury framed the proposal around its ambition to make home ownership attainable for more households. The consultation focused on implementing the new ISA, rather than on mortgage lending or changes to the housing supply.

The savings proposal sits alongside a housing market in which price growth has slowed. According to HM Land Registry, the average UK house price reached £273,000 in August 2026, with annual growth easing to 0.9%.

Borrowing activity also provides context for the announcement. Bank of England figures showed house-purchase mortgage approvals fell to 53,400 in September 2026, while approvals to remortgage with a different lender increased. Those figures concern lending activity, not the likely take-up of the proposed ISA.

What did consultation respondents ask for?

The Treasury’s account of the responses describes support for introducing the First Time Buyer ISA as broad but conditional. That distinction matters: the published summary does not portray respondents as endorsing the proposal without qualifications.

Respondents wanted the product’s design to be straightforward and stable, according to the Treasury. They also emphasised clear communications for customers, making the way the account is explained a central part of their feedback.

A further priority was to align the new product as closely as possible with existing ISA infrastructure. The Treasury’s summary therefore identifies implementation within the established savings system, as well as the account’s design, as an important concern.

What happens next for the new ISA?

The Treasury says it has taken respondents’ views into account in finalising the policy design and implementation approach. That is the confirmed position set out in its outcome summary.

The webpage summary does not give a launch date, contribution limits, eligibility rules or arrangements for existing Lifetime ISA holders. Its wording makes the replacement conditional on the new product becoming available; the consultation update should not itself be read as confirmation that the account has launched.