HomeBuilder Scheme Announced – $25K to build or renovate

The government has announced the HomeBuilder scheme, which will see eligible owner-occupiers who are either building or undertaking a substantial renovation given $25,000 for doing so. But who will actually benefit from the stimulus?

HomeBuilder will provide eligible owner-occupiers, inclusive of first home buyers, 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 works on the home must commence within three months of the contract being signed.

Who is eligible for HomeBuilder?

To access HomeBuilder, property purchasers and renovators must be an owner-occupier of the property.

They must also:

• Be a natural person (not a company or a trust)
• Be aged 18 years or older
• Be an Australian citizen

Eligibility will also require having an income below one of the following income caps:

• $125,000 per annum for an individual applicant based on your 2018-19 tax return or later; or
• $200,000 per annum for a couple based on both 2018-19 tax returns or later

The building contract must be entered into between 4 June 2020 and 31 December 2020 and must fall into either of the following categories:

• The construction of a new home must be for the purpose of being a principal place of residence, where the property value (of the house and land) does not exceed $750,000; or
• 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 be commenced within three months of the contract details.

According to the Treasury, HomeBuilder will complement all existing state and territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes.

It will also complement the Commonwealth government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

Who is not eligible for HomeBuilder?

• Owner-builders and anyone who is seeking to build a new home to be used as an investment property will not be eligible for HomeBuilder.
• Investors seeking to renovate an existing home in use as an investment property will also not be eligible for the scheme.