Home buyers assistance account a guide for first home buyers

If you are buying your first home you may be eligible for a grant to help with fees, charges and other incidental expenses.

First home buyers in Western Australia may be eligible for a grant from the Home Buyers Assistance Account (HBAA), which provides up to $2,000 to reimburse some of the costs associated with purchasing a first home.

The HBAA is a State Government scheme, administered by the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety (the Department). The scheme is funded from the interest paid on real estate agents’ trust accounts.

The grant can reimburse incidental expenses, including mortgage registration fees, settlement agent fees, valuation and inspection fees, loan establishment fees, mortgage insurance premiums, and lending institutions’ fees associated with buying a home. Postage, bank cheque fees, rates and taxes on the property, which are split between the purchaser and vendor at settlement, cannot be included.

Eligibility criteria

You may still be eligible for a grant from the HBAA even if you have received funding from other schemes.

The eligibility criteria for the HBAA grant may change from time to time. You can find information on the Home buyers assistance account page.

To be eligible, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• The maximum purchase price of the home is within the $400,000 prescribed limit for dwellings purchased in Western Australia (for the latest current threshold figure, please visit the Department’s website).
• The home is purchased through a real estate agent licensed to carry on business in Western Australia.
• The home loan is financed through a lending institution, such as a bank, building society or credit union.
• The buyer must intend to live in the home for at least the first 12 months. The home cannot be rented out during this time.
• If there is an existing tenancy agreement in place at the time of purchasing the dwelling, the tenancy agreement must finish within six months from the settlement date; and the applicant/s must intend to live in the premises for at least 12 months after the tenancy expiry date.
• It is the buyer’s first home. The buyer must not own or have owned a home in Western Australia. If you are buying a home with others who own or have owned a home in Western Australia before, then you can apply for a partial grant based on the percentage of your ownership of the home.
• The home is established or partially built (not vacant land or a ‘house and land’ package).
• Your application is lodged with the Department no more than 90 days after the date of settlement of the contract to purchase the home. Applications lodged outside the 90 days may be accepted if reasonable grounds for the late lodgement exist.

Frequently asked questions

Contact us

You can contact the Home Buyers Assistance Hotline for further advice or assistance with the application.

Please email, call (08) 6552 9484, or for country callers, telephone 1300 304 054 for the cost of a local call.

Scope of this publication

This publication provides general information and explains the law in simple language. It is not a substitute for the legislation. You should seek expert or legal advice about your particular situation.