The government is in discussions with housebuilders about extending the existing Help to Buy scheme to kickstart construction once the UK is through the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is one of a range of options the government is investigating in light of fears the construction stand still will hit housebuilders’ cashflow, and so limit their ability to build new homes.

The existing Help to Buy programme is due to expire in April 2021, when it is due to be replaced by a scaled-back version of the legislation restricted to first-time buyers. The new version of the scheme would include regional price caps and new criteria on eligibility around the quality of new homes.

Housebuilders have said an extension of the full scheme instead of the paired back version would mitigate some of the damage from the current pandemic.

Redrow chairman John Tutte told The Times: “It makes sense for the government to extend the [Help to Buy] deadlines by 12 months. I think that will become quite important because we don’t know where the mortgage market is going to come back to.”

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Building the homes the country needs is a priority for the government and we are working to protect capacity so that when normal service resumes, we can get Britain building more homes than ever before.”