This article was originally posted on www.ibuynew.com.au
Victorian Homebuyers worried about missing out on the HomeBuilder grant due to recently imposed restrictions across the state have woken to a little bit of good news today.
A three-month extension has been announced on the existing three-month construction commencement deadline bringing it up to six months. The Commissioner of State Revenue of Victoria exercised his discretion to extend the grant’s commencement deadline under the National Partnership Agreement. According to the press release issued by the Victorian State Revenue Office, the Commissioner does not have the discretion to grant any further extensions.
This means all applicants for the HomeBuilder grant in Victoria now have a six-month deadline to commence construction of their renovation, house, townhome, or apartment from when the eligible contract is signed.
The announcement will provide some relief to both Victorian homebuyers and the construction industry which is expecting to grind to a snail’s pace over the coming weeks. On Monday, the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced strict new measures limiting the number of workers allowed on construction sites from midnight Wednesday, August 5. The aim was to allow construction to continue over the period while minimising the potential spread of COVID on worksites.
Concerns had been raised about how these measures would affect the eligibility of projects for the HomeBuilder grant, which has provided a much-needed boost to the industry since it was announced in March this year. The grant has been attributed to a record number of new home sales across the country in June.
HomeBuilder Guidelines stipulate that to be eligible for the grant construction on the project must commence within three months of the contract being signed. The fear was that substantially slower construction progress over the lockdown period would result in delays to commencement dates putting project eligibility at risk.
Read updated HomeBuilder Guidelines on Victoria’s State Revenue Office site.
Click here for more information about the HomeBuilder Grant.
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