Key worker housing

HomeBuy programmes are government schemes run by authorised agents. They're designed to make it financially easier for certain people to buy homes.

Under several of these schemes, people working in certain public sector professions - known as key workers - may be eligible for assistance.

Who are key workers?

Under the current system, the following categories of people are classified as key workers (at least one member of your household needs to be working in one of these roles):

Clinical NHS staff (excluding doctors and dentists);

• Teachers and nursery nurses, either in schools, sixth form colleges or further education;
• Police officers, community support officers and some civilian staff;
• Prison officers and some other prison staff;
• Probation Service staff;
• Local authority planners;
• Firefighters and certain other staff in Fire and Rescue Services;
• Connexions personal advisors if employed by a local authority or a Connexions partnership;
• Armed Forces personnel, Ministry of Defence clinical staff, Ministry of Defence police officers and uniformed staff in the Fire and Defence Service;
• Qualified environmental health officers/practitioners working in a local authority, government agency, the NHS or other public sector agencies;
• Highways Agency staff in certain safety roles in the traffic officer service;
• Social workers, nursery nurses, educational psychologists and therapists employed by local authorities, the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service or the NHS.

Are there any other criteria?

To be eligible for help from a HomeBuy scheme, key workers also need to fit at least one of the following criteria:

• Have a household income no greater than £60,000 a year;
• Be a first-time buyer;
• Be unable to otherwise afford a property that meets your household's needs;
• Be a homeowner who needs to buy a bigger property to meet your household's needs, but cannot otherwise afford to.

All first-time buyers can apply for HomeBuy but key workers are given priority.