NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have become the latest lenders to support the government’s new Help to Buy London scheme when it launches on 1 February.

Prospective homeowners who take up the scheme will qualify for a government loan of up to 40% of the property price – up to a maximum value of £600,000. Customers will need to provide a minimum 5% deposit.

Lloyd Cochrane, head of mortgages at NatWest and RBS, said: “With property prices continuing to rise, we understand how difficult it is for people to get on the London property ladder. The Help to Buy schemes have been a help to a great deal of customers facing the prospect of raising a large deposit, so this new scheme for London should open the way for more people to buy their dream home.”

Graham Felstead, head of NatWest Intermediary Solutions, added: “We have been a long time supporter of the government’s shared equity schemes and are happy to be able to inform brokers and their customers that we’ll be able to accept applications from London-based customers looking to buy their first home from 1 February. This is a great extension to a scheme which has already had a great impact on first time buyers.”

Customers will also be able to apply for RBS and NatWest’s existing two and five-year Help to Buy shared equity mortgage deal and the same criteria will apply.

There are no changes to NatWest and RBS’s existing Help to Buy shared equity criteria or application process.