Check the HS2 Phase 1, 2a or 2b route maps first to see which zone your property is in.
Quick facts
- Safeguarded area
- Express Purchase or Need to Sell
- Home loss payment
- 10% of value, up to £71,000
- Rural support zone cash offer
- £30,000 to £100,000
- Homeowner payment
- £8,000 to £24,000
- Outside the zones
- Need to Sell Scheme
Which scheme
- If you’re in a safeguarded area: Express Purchase Scheme or Need to Sell Scheme
- If you’re in a rural support zone: Cash Offer or Voluntary Purchase Scheme, or Need to Sell Scheme
- If you’re in a homeowner payment zone (Phase 1 or Phase 2a): the Homeowner Payment Scheme
- If you cannot sell your property because of HS2 and it’s outside the zones: the Need to Sell Scheme
Express Purchase
If you qualify the government will buy your property at its open market value as if HS2 was not going to be being built (known as ‘unblighted’ value), give you a ‘home loss’ payment equal to 10% of the property’s open market value (up to £71,000), and pay reasonable expenses, for example stamp duty, surveyors’ and legal fees, and removal costs.
Rural support zone
Your house or 25% of the total area of your property must be in the rural support zone (generally 60 to 120 metres from the route).
The cash offer is a lump-sum payment of 10% of the unblighted open market value of your property (from a minimum of £30,000 to a maximum of £100,000).
If you qualify for voluntary purchase, the government will pay 100% of the unblighted open market value, as assessed by 2 independent valuers.
Homeowner Payment Scheme
You can claim £8,000 to £24,000 depending on which homeowner payment band you’re in.
- Between 120m and 180m: £24,000
- Between 180m and 240m: £16,000
- Between 240m and 300m: £8,000
You must be the owner occupier, and have bought the property before 9 April 2014 for Phase 1 and before 30 November 2015 for Phase 2a.
Phase 2b homes will become eligible once this phase is authorised by Parliament.
Need to Sell
The government will agree to buy your property for 100% of the unblighted open market value if your application is successful.
Common questions
What compensation can I get if HS2 affects my home?
Depending on your zone: a sale at unblighted value, a cash offer of £30,000 to £100,000, or a homeowner payment of £8,000 to £24,000.
What is the home loss payment?
10% of the property’s open market value, up to £71,000, under Express Purchase.
How much are homeowner payments?
£24,000 at 120 to 180 metres, £16,000 at 180 to 240 metres and £8,000 at 240 to 300 metres from the route.
What if I am outside the zones?
You can apply to the Need to Sell Scheme if you cannot sell because of HS2.