Are You Eligible for The First Home Buyers Grant?

You may be able to apply for a First Home Buyers Grant if you, or anyone you may be buying a home with:

●  Are aged 18 years or over

●  Have been contributing the required minimum to KiwiSaver (or complying fund or exempt employer scheme) for at least 3 years

●  Have a household income below the income caps in the last 12 months:

     ○  $95,000 or less before tax for a single buyer

     ○  $150,000 or less before tax for 2 or more buyers

●  Are buying an acceptable type of property or land arrangement

●  Have not already received the First Home Buyers Grant or predecessors such as the KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant or KiwiSaver first-home deposit subsidy

●  Are buying a property with a purchase price within the designated price cap for the region

●  Not currently own any property, this does not include ownership of Māori land

●  Have a deposit that is at least 5% of the purchase price, including the addition of the grant, KiwiSaver withdrawal amount, savings or family gifts supported by a gifting declaration.

●  Agree to live in your new home for at least 6 months.

You can apply online on the Kāinga Ora website where you will be required to provide evidence confirming your eligibility.

The maximum purchase price the grant can contribute towards differs depending on whether you’re buying an existing property or a new build. Below are the latest First Home Grant capped rates announced in the May 2022 budget.

●  Auckland - $875k existing house, $875k new builds

●  Queenstown - $875k existing house, $925k new builds

●  Wellington - $750k existing house, $925k new builds

●  Christchurch - $550k existing house, $750k new builds

●  Hamilton - $650k existing house, $725k new builds

●  Rest of NZ - Ranges from $400k - $875 existing house, $500k - 925k new builds

All properties that received a building code compliance certificate more than 12 months before you apply for a First Home Buyers Grant are considered existing properties. The property must be within the maximum house price caps for existing properties, be habitable and be your primary place of residence for at least 6 months from the settlement date.

You must have pre-approval for the First Home Buyers Grant before you purchase land to build on. The land must be ready to build on. If it's not, the cost to prepare the land for building must be taken into consideration.

●  Submit your application at least 4 weeks before the settlement of the land

●  Have plans to build or relocate a home immediately after grant pre-approval

●  Have a signed sale and purchase agreement for the land

●  Provide a signed, fixed-price building contract that shows the cost of construction and estimated start and finish dates

●  Provide copies of all relevant associated documents such as house plans and property specifications

●  Have enough money to complete the construction of the property within the relevant house price cap.

●  If you don't have a fixed-price building contract because you are doing a self-build or partial build, you will need to provide a quantity surveyor's report showing the total build cost.

The finished property must be a permanent dwelling and be your primary place of residence for at least 6 months from the date the code compliance certificate is issued. The total combined costs for the land purchase and the house construction must be within the relevant house price caps.