Home Builder provides eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home. Home Builder will assist the residential construction market by encouraging the commencement of new home builds and renovations this year.

Summary:

 Home Builder is a time-limited grant program to help the residential construction market to bounce back from the Coronavirus crisis.

Home Builder will provide eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home where the contract is signed between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020. Construction must commence within three months of the contract date.

Home Builder will complement existing State and Territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the Commonwealth’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

Eligibility:

To access Home Builder, owner-occupiers must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• you are a natural person (not a company or trust)
• you are aged 18 years or older
• you are an Australian citizen
• you meet one of the following two income caps:
• $125,000 per annum for an individual applicant based on your 2018-19 tax return or later
• $200,000 per annum for a couple based on both 2018-19 tax returns or later
• you enter into a building contract between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 to either:
• build a new home as a principal place of residence, where the property value does not exceed $750,000
• substantially renovate your existing home as a principal place of residence, where the renovation contract is between $150,000 and $750,000, and where the value of your existing property does not exceed $1.5 million
• construction must commence within three months of the contract date.

Process and timing

Home Builder will be implemented via a National Partnership Agreement, signed by the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments. This approach will utilise existing state and territory mechanisms to distribute the Home Builder payments.

When the States and Territories begin accepting Home Builder applications, they will backdate acceptance of these applications to 4 June 2020.

Information on when and how you will be able to access Home Builder will become available through the relevant State or Territory revenue office.

Points to take care in the process:

Owner-builders and those seeking to build a new home or renovate an existing home as an investment property are ineligible for Home Builder.

In negotiating a building contact, the parties must deal with each other at arm’s length. This means the contract must be made by two parties freely and independently of each other, and without some special relationship, such as being a relative. The terms of the contract should be commercially reasonable and the contract price should not be inflated compared to the fair market price. Renovations or building work must be undertaken by a registered or licenced building service 'contractor' (depending on the state or territory you live in) and named as a builder on the building licence or permit.

The renovation works must be to improve the accessibility, safety and liveability of the dwelling. It cannot be for additions to the property such as swimming pools, tennis courts, outdoor spas and saunas, sheds or garages (unconnected to the property).

Home Builder will be non-taxable - consistent with existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs.