The Government has issued guidance and allowances to Solicitors on Covid-19 and the effects this has on the HTB ISA and related bonus. The below information doesn’t seem to have ben published on the Government HTB website, so we are providing it here,

The amendments to their rules have been put in place until 30th June.

Scheme Rule: 6.8 Help to Buy: ISA Reinstatements

(A) Subject to providing to the relevant Eligible ISA Manager a Purchase Failure Notice, an individual who has closed a Help to Buy: ISA in accordance with clause 6.7 (Closing a Help to Buy: ISA – Closing Documents) above for the purposes of making a claim for a Bonus under clause 7 (Bonus payments) of these Scheme Rules shall be entitled, within 12 months of the Account Closing Date for that Help to Buy: ISA.

The deadline of twelve months has been extended by three months allowing fifteen months in total from the Account Closing Date.

e.g. if your account was closed eleven months ago (March 2019), the client will have an additional three months, over the current 12 months,  until July 2020 to claim their bonus.

Scheme Rule: 7.7 Return of Bonus payments to the Administrator

In the event that:

(A) the purchase of the property listed on the bonus does not occur within three months of the payment of the Bonus by the Administrator to the Solicitor ; or

(B) before that time, it becomes apparent to an Solicitor that the Help to Buy: ISA Holder will not proceed with the purchase of the property listed on the Payment Request,

The three-month period for acquisition of the property following the bonus payment has been extended to six months.

e.g., if your scheduled completion in March does not go ahead, your Solicitor may retain the bonus funds until September 2020, with a view to the property purchase completing within that time.