Riya Mala 
[File Photo]
The First Home Ownership Grant is seeing strong demand, with 97.4 percent of its $4.22 million allocation utilised in the 2024–25 financial year.
Housing Minister Maciu Nalumisa says $4.1 million was used to assist 182 families to either buy or build their first homes.
Of those, 119 families received assistance under Category One, for households earning a combined annual income of $50,000 or less.
“For Category 1, which is for households earning an annual combined income of $50,000 and below, this category utilised
$3.175 million of its $3.22 million allocation, achieving a utilisation rate of 98.6%. The utilised balance was around $45,000. For Category 2, which is assistance given to households with a combined annual income of up to $100,000, a total of $935,000 was utilised of its $1 million allocation, achieving a utilisation rate of 93.5%, with an unutilised balance
of $65,000.”
Opposition MP Rinesh Sharma questioned whether the Government would review the eligibility criteria and grant structure, particularly given rising construction costs.
“Have you been able to identify some of the barriers that prevent people from applying, looking at some of the construction costs? So are you going to revisit some of the eligibility criteria and grant structure going forward, so you can target more middle- and low-income earners?”
Nalumisa says the Ministry has reviewed the financial assistance criteria, with greater focus on families earning below $50,000, including those earning less than $30,000.
He says 96 families received grants to purchase their first homes, while another 86 received assistance to build homes.
A total of $4.11 million was disbursed under the programme.
