The money in your Lifetime ISA - including the 25% bonus - can be put towards the deposit of your first home. The home must be purchased for £450,000 or less, be in the UK, for you to live in, and be bought with the mortgage. You have to have had your Lifetime ISA open (aka with a balance >£0) for over 12 months before you can use it towards your house purchase.
Additionally, eligible buyers need to be first-time property owners who intend to use the property as their primary residence.
Step-by-Step Process for Using LISA Funds for a Home Purchase
Notify Your Solicitor: Inform your conveyancer or solicitor about your intention to use your LISA funds for the property purchase.
Complete Required Forms: Fill out the Customer Declaration Form and submit it to your solicitor.
Solicitor Submission to Tembo: Your solicitor will complete their section of the form and coordinate its submission with Tembo.
Funds Release: Tembo will release the funds, typically within 30 days, directly to your solicitor. Ensure timely form submission to prevent delays.
Lifetime ISA funds must be used directly towards the purchase of the house and NOT for use to pay associated fees, including solicitor fees.
Please get in touch with us via [email protected] when you are ready to buy your first home, giving us as much notice as possible, and our customer support team will liaise with your conveyancer/solicitor to arrange the release of your funds for your eligible home purchase.
Funds must be utilsed towards the property’s purchase price, not associated costs, within 90 days of withdrawal. An extension to a maximum of 180 days is possible, though non-negotiable. For joint purchases, each LISA account remains separate, even if one buyer is not a first-time buyer.