cranes construction with blue sky background
Source: The Property Tribune, Henry Thai
  • Federal grant HomeBuilder was extended to 31 March 2021 at reduced rates.
  • HomeBuilder price caps raised in NSW and Victoria, but not elsewhere.
  • Tasmanian COVID-19 Rent Relief Fund extended to 31 January 2021.
  • Western Australian moratorium on evictions ends 28 March 2021, with a new grant available for application between 4 January 2021 and 28 June 2021.
  • Victoria continues rent assistance scheme, and the ban on some evictions extended to 28 March 2021.

Federal Grants: HomeBuilder

The popular HomeBuilder grant has been extended until 31 March of this year.

It is, however, offered at a lower rate of $15,000.

The Treasury states that applications can “be submitted up until 14 April 2021”, applicable to “eligible contracts signed on or after 4 June 2020”.

The Federal Government also extended the construction commencement timeframe for all Homebuilder applicants, now six months, up from the previous three month period.

Price caps have also been raised for Victoria and New South Wales, now sitting at $850,000 and $950,000 respectively; price caps were not changed for other states and remain at $750,000.

For more information, please visit the grants website.

Tasmania

The Tasmanian government’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Fund is still available until 31 January 2021.

The fund includes extreme hardship assistance for tenants, with support of up to $2000 or four weeks rent still available.

Similarly, landlords experiencing hardship can also apply for state grants.

For more information, visit the Department of Communities Tasmania website.

Western Australia

With time running out for the moratorium on evictions, new grants are now available to struggling Western Australians.

The new grant available to tenants requires applicants to satisfy a number of criteria including:

  • Lost their job or 50 per cent of their income due to COVID-19 or were in receipt of a Centrelink payment (excluding JobKeeper), on or after 20 March 2020;
  • Have less than $10,000 in savings;
  • Pay more than 25 per cent of their income in rent per week;
  • Are tenants or sub-tenants in a private residential property, rooming house or residential park;
  • Have a tenancy agreement in place as at December 1, 2020;
  • The debt was incurred before December 1, 2020; and
  • Have a bond lodged with the Bond Administrator.

For more information on the grant and applications, please visit the WA rent relief website.

Victoria

The Property Tribune recently reported on the developments in Victoria.

The Victorian government extended the ban on evictions to 28 March 2021, with rent assistance measures still available.

Rent assistance was increased from $2,000 to $3,000 with no need to reapply if grant applications were made before the change to the higher amount.

Application deadlines have also been extended until 28 March 2021, and the amount of personal savings you can hold to be eligible is now $10,000, up from the previous $5,000.

For more, please visit the Housing Vic website.

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Before investing in any asset or applying for grants, please do your own independent research, taking into account your own personal financial situation. This article does not purport to provide financial advice. See our Terms of Use.




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