Page 1106 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 1991
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Housing Trust loans assessors will examine the affordability of the refinanced loan with the client. Our objective here is, to the extent possible, to keep families in their present homes rather than having them move elsewhere.
The income limit under the Commissioner for Housing loans scheme has been set at the point equal to the minimum level required to secure a loan from the private sector. The income limit will be on a sliding scale, decreasing as the loan amount required decreases. The new criteria will ensure that there is no gap between the eligibility point for public rental assistance and the minimum salary level to afford private home lending. They also mean that, as interest rates continue to drop, the income limit will drop because access to private loans will improve.
I would now like to talk about the new deposit assistance program, which will be known as the HomeEntry housing assistance program. HomeEntry provides a grant of $1,500 to home buyers who qualify for and receive a Commissioner for Housing loan. Grants will also be available to those people who meet the eligibility criteria for Commissioner for Housing loans, but receive loans under schemes operated by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. The grant will assist home buyers to bridge the deposit gap and help offset some of the costs of mortgage insurance, legal and conveyancing fees, loan administration, moving, et cetera. The grant is repayable only if the property is sold within a period of three years. The money will not meet the total cost of entering home ownership, nor should it; but it is a healthy contribution that will assist families intending to enter home ownership to achieve their goal earlier.
The funds available this year for the scheme, $231,400, are provided to the ACT under the Commonwealth mortgage and rent assistance program. That program also provides funds for mortgage and rent relief. Schemes already exist which target those mortgagors and tenants in the private sector who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties. HomeEntry replaces the assistance previously available under the first home owners scheme, but is not restricted to first home buyers, as our intention is also to assist families seeking to re-enter home ownership.
In addition to the deposit assistance, low and moderate income home buyers will be assisted with stamp duty concessions. This extends concessions to people who are re-entering home ownership as well as first home buyers. The income criteria for stamp duty concessions have been extended from $34,000 to $39,000 per annum, and match the new criteria for eligibility for Commissioner for Housing loans. In addition to those people who receive Commissioner for Housing loans, concessions will also be available to people who finance their loans through the private sector, but still qualify for Commissioner for Housing loans. Full stamp duty exemption will continue to
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