Government to assist people looking to build their first home with a $10,000 grant

The government will assist people looking to build their first home with a $10,000 grant, provided they do their monthly repayments.

Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum says if a person wants to build a house and the house will cost $20,000 and the bank will ask for 20% deposit and on assessment if they are convinced that a person can do the monthly repayments but the person does not have enough money for the deposit, the person can apply for $10,000 from the government.

He says the money will not be given to the person but to the bank, so it can be used as the person’s contribution.

Sayed‑Khaiyum says the government has negotiated with the Reserve Bank of Fiji so that the loan interest won’t be more than 5%.

He says the Reserve Bank will write to these banks, even to the Housing Authority, telling them that the margin should be no more than 5%.

The Minister for Economy says to build a home costs a lot of money, and the government has developed a plan where there is a Strata Title.

Sayed‑Khaiyum says Strata Title means a person can own the property and this is where a person can own a flat for a 99 year lease.

He says an example is the flats in Raiwaqa where people can actually own them, and the bank will use it as collateral.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the government is encouraging apartment blocks to be built with apartments ranging from low income category to mid income category to luxury apartments as this ensures that the value of the property will increase and not decrease.