On 4 June, the Government announced its plan to support jobs in the residential construction sector with the introduction of the new Home Builder program.

Until 31 December 2020, all eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) can apply for a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home.

Am I eligible?

Home Builder applicants will be subject to eligibility criteria. These include:

• Applicants must be an adult, Australian citizen
• Income caps of $125,000 for singles and $200,000 for couples based on their latest assessable income.

What is the grant for?

• For new home builds, there is a national dwelling price cap of $750,000
• For renovations to an existing home with a current value of no more than $1.5 million, you need to spend between $150,000 up to $750,000 of your own money.

What else should I know?

• You need to enter a contract to renovate or build your main place of residence, before the end of the year
• Construction must begin within three months of the contract date (no investment properties)
• The contract must be negotiated at a fair market price, and to prevent inflated quotes, the contractor must demonstrate the cost is the same or lower than a comparable project in July 2019
• The contractor must be a registered or licensed builder and cannot be related to you in any way
• Renovations do not include external work such as swimming pools, tennis courts and sheds. They are solely for improving the accessibility, safety or liveability of the home.

More information on the Home Builder programme, including eligibility, can be found on the Treasury Coronavirus Economic Response website.

First home buyers

First home buyers can also get a $10,000 grant towards building a new home up to $750,000 and purchasing a new home up to $600,000 under the ‘fair go for first home buyers’ programme. Under this programme, they also benefit from:

• No stamp duty on all homes up to $650,000
• Stamp duty relief for homes up to $800,000
• No insurance duty on lenders’ mortgage insurance.

For more information on this, visit www.nsw.gov.au

If you want to know more about other grants which may be available, please call us on 02 4954 8833, send us an email to: mail@apnewcastle.com.au or call into the office.