HomeBuilder provides eligible owner occupiers with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home/new home. A new home is one that has not previously been sold or occupied as a place of residence (e.g. a spec build) and where construction commenced on or after 4 June 2020.
About HomeBuilder
On 4 June 2020, the Australian Government announced HomeBuilder to provide eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home, substantially renovate an existing home or buy an off-the-plan home/new home.
While the eligible contract must be signed between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 (inclusive), construction need not commence prior to 31 December 2020. However, it must commence within three months of the contract date and construction cannot have commenced before 4 June 2020.
Three month extension for construction commencement in Victoria In light of the introduction of Stage 4 restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne (effective from 2 August 2020) and Stage 3 restrictions in regional Victoria (effective from 5 August 2020), the Commissioner of State Revenue will exercise discretion under the National Partnership Agreement to provide a blanket extension of 3 months to the construction commencement requirement for the HomeBuilder Grant. This means that all applicants for the HomeBuilder Grant in Victoria have 6 months from the signing of the eligible HomeBuilder contract, to commence construction. The Commissioner does not have discretion to grant any extensions beyond this additional 3 month extension.
The Australian Government's HomeBuilder Grant is subject to the provisions of the National Partnership Agreement between the Victorian Government and the Australian Government.
The HomeBuilder Grant complements the existing First Home Owner Grant that is available in Victoria when you buy or build your first new home.
HomeBuilder applications
HomeBuilder Grant applications are to be lodged via the online portal. Applications must be received by no later than 31 December 2020.
Applicant(s) can lodge their application in a multi-step process with the initial lodgement being after an eligible HomeBuilder contract has been entered into. Once commencement of construction and the payment eligibility requirement milestones have been met, any additional supporting documentation should be lodged via the online portal.
We will advise you whether your application has been approved or declined. Generally this will be within 15 business days of a complete application being received.
Before lodging your application, please read the following eligibility criteria, and the section on the supporting documents you will need. You can also use our decision tool to check your eligibility.
Eligibility criteria
Eligible applicants
The HomeBuilder Grant is available to individual applicants and couples who are, or will be, registered as the owner on the certificate of title.
If you are the only person who is listed, or will be listed, on the certificate of title as owner of the property, you must apply as an individual applicant. If there is, or will be, more than one person listed on the certificate of title, they must jointly apply as a couple provided they meet the definition of ‘couple’.
Each applicant must be:
a natural person (not a company or trust),
aged 18 years or older at the date of the contract, and
an Australian citizen at the date of application.
The HomeBuilder Grant is only open to Australian citizens. Accordingly, permanent residents and/or visa holders are not eligible. Where two people are listed on the certificate of title as registered proprietors, they must apply for HomeBuilder as a couple and both applicants must meet the eligibility criteria, including the citizenship requirement.
When you must be registered on the certificate of title as the owner of the land or property depends on the type of contract you enter into:
For contracts to build, you must be registered on title as owner of the land by no later than the laying of foundations and the first progress payment is made.
For substantial renovations, you must be registered on the title as owner of the property at the time that you enter into the contract for renovation works.
For off-the-plan/new homes, you must be registered on the title as owner of the property when the building is completed and you are entitled to take possession of the home.
Applicant(s) must be below one of the following two income caps:
$125,000 per annum for an individual based on either your 2018-19 or 2019-20 taxable income, as shown on your notice of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office, or
$200,000 per annum for a couple based on either your combined 2018-19 or 2019-20 taxable income, as shown on your notices of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office.
A couple is considered as two people that are legally married, in a registered domestic relationship, or living as a couple on a genuine domestic basis, excluding people related to each other, e.g. siblings.
Each applicant must not have previously received the HomeBuilder Grant for any property owned individually or jointly with another person in any Australian state or territory.
Each applicant must live in the home as their principal place of residence for a continuous period of at least 6 months immediately on completion of construction, renovation or settlement.
Investment properties are excluded from the HomeBuilder program.
To get full details please go to the State Revenue Office website by clicking here.
Comments