How much is the ACT First Home Owners Grant?

The ACT First Home Owners Grant is $7,000 for transactions dated from 1st January 2017 until 30 June 2019.

After 30 June 2019, the Grant is expected to cease.

However, extensions are often announced close to the expiry date.  But at the time of writing, no announcement has been made.

Important eligibility criteria

• You must be buying or building a property with a maximum value of $750,000.
• The property must be a brand new or substantially renovated.
• At least 1 applicant must occupy the home within 1 year, as their principal place of residence, for a continuous period of at least 1 year.
• You or your spouse must never have previously owned and occupied a property that was purchased after 1 July 2000.
• You or your spouse must never have owned or held a relevant interest in a property before 1 July 2000.
• You must lodge your application within 1 year of the completion of the transaction.

What’s a new or substantially renovated property mean?

Eligible properties for the ACT First Home Owners Grant must be new or substantially renovated, which can be defined as:

• A property that not been never been lived in (not previously occupied or sold as a principal place of residence).
• A substantially renovated home, that’s never been lived in since the substantial renovation (not occupied or sold as a principal place of residence since the renovation).
• A property that is sold “off-the-plan”.

Substantially renovated further explained:

• Renovations must affect the majority of the home.
• Renovations must affect all, or substantially all, of the previous building.
• Renovations of bedrooms, or kitchen and bathrooms, whilst leaving the majority of the building untouched would not qualify as substantially renovated.
• Cosmetic improvements do not qualify.

How to apply for the First Home Owners Grant in the ACT

If you need the funds for the property settlement, you’ll need to get your lender to handle the application.

Otherwise, you can download the application and process yourself.

If you apply yourself, allow at least 2 weeks to receive the funds (and ensure you send all the supporting documents).

To download the FHOG application for the ACT, click here.

For ACT first home buyers grant info, click here.

For information on general home buyer assistance click here.

ACT Stamp Duty Concessions for First Home Buyers click here.

Looking for Grant info on other States and Territories?

If you’re looking for other States and Territories click here, and then select your State.