Habitat partners with lower income families by providing a step up into home ownership.
It’s no secret that home ownership has become an unattainable reality for many Kiwi families, having fallen to its lowest level since 1951.
The barriers to home ownership are high; material barriers like the difficulty of saving for a deposit, tough lending criteria, and quintupling housing prices make it close to impossible for even middle earning families to afford to buy their own home. But a loss of hope means that fewer families even attempt to gain home ownership in the first instance.
Through our Progressive Home Ownership we partner with families locked out of the private housing market. Families occupy a new home built by Habitat, and pay the equivalent of fair market rent determined by their total gross household income. This programme allows households to enter an affordable rental programme with secure tenure for at least five years, until refinancing and taking ownership of their own home.
Application Criteria
Habitat for Humanity recognises and assesses a number of factors when deciding who might benefit from our Progressive Home Ownership programme, including:
- Be a New Zealand Citizen or Permanent Resident.
- Have demonstrated housing needs from inadequate housing, unaffordable rent and/or inability to save a deposit for a home.
- Be willing to engage in a 10 year partnership with Habitat for Humanity, invest 500 hours of sweat equity and participate in workshops.
- Have a stable household income to meet the repayments requirements.
To enquire about the specific criteria for the Taranaki region, please email us to find out more information.
To apply, fill in our Application Form download and email to [email protected]