First Home Partner

First Home Partner is a shared ownership scheme administered by Kāinga Ora for first home buyers who are able to service repayments, but do not have enough savings or a deposit to receive financial pre-approval for a home loan.

Becoming a full homeowner with First Home Partner

We want you to completely own your home as soon as you are financially able to do so within 15 years of ownership. Kāinga Ora will support you on this journey with a Goals Management Programme.

Goals Management Programme

The Goals Management Programme is available to help you stay on track with your goals toward home ownership. It involves annual meetings at your home with a Kāinga Ora Relationship Manager, who will work with and help you achieve the goals of:

• becoming a full homeowner (and doing your best to achieve this within 15 years)
• maintaining the home in a similar condition to when it was purchased
• you continuing to live at the home during the period of shared ownership.

You will need to provide us with information about the current and future financial circumstances of your household. This can include your current:

• household income
• savings
• expenses or other loan payments.

If you have not bought the share in your home owned by Kāinga Ora within the first 15 years of ownership, an annual administration fee from year 15 to cover reasonable costs incurred by Kāinga Ora will be charged.

Buying the share owned by Kāinga Ora

You can choose to purchase the shares owned by Kāinga Ora as:

1. a single lump-sum payment; or
2. in smaller individual payments that each meet the minimum purchase amount (e.g. $1,000).

You may choose to do this by using your savings or setting goals with your Relationship Manager to purchase shares on an annual basis.

The amount required for your payment is determined by the value of the home at the time of purchase. This means that, if the value of the property has increased 10% from when you originally purchased it, the share of the home Kāinga Ora owns will cost 10% more to purchase. Log into your First Home Partner web portal(external link) to submit a share purchase request.

Once you have fully purchased the share owned by Kāinga Ora, you have become a full homeowner.

Renovating or making additions to your home

You will need to seek prior approval from Kāinga Ora if you want to carry out renovations or improvements as long as we remain a co-owner of the home. This includes any identified improvements indicated through the due diligence and deferred maintenance process prior to purchase. Please refer to the renovation process in the Shared Ownership Agreement.

Log into your First Home Partner web portal(external link) to submit a renovation or report damage request.

Renting out your home

You are expected to live in your home as your primary place of residence while Kāinga Ora holds shares in the property.

Further lending

We want you to completely own your home as soon as you are financially able to do so within the first 15 years of ownership. As co-owner, it is important Kāinga Ora is aware of any further lending, as increased debt may impact your ability to repay the share owned by Kāinga Ora.

Please seek financial advice before committing to any additional loans. If your financial advisor confirms you have capacity for further lending, please send us a ‘further lending request’ with their supporting evidence. This request can be logged in your First Home Partner web portal(external link).

Selling the home

First Home Partner is designed to help you become full homeowners, but during the period of shared ownership you may wish or need to sell your home due to:

• a change in your personal circumstances (e.g. a change in employment)
• a change in your financial circumstances
• no longer being able to purchase the share owned by Kāinga Ora.

Your Kāinga Ora Relationship Manager will be able to talk to you about your individual scenario. Log into your First Home Partner web portal(external link) to submit a property sale request.

If the home is sold when Kāinga Ora is still a shared owner, the sale proceeds will be split proportionate to the share held by each party. For example, if Kāinga Ora still owns 10% of the property and it sells for $800,000, we are entitled to receive $80,000 from the sale.

Legal resources and documents

• Shared Ownership Agreement example [PDF, 1.5 MB]
• Guide to the Shared Ownership Agreement [PDF, 55 KB]

Can't find what you're looking for?

The team is available to help 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.

• phone us on 0508 935 266
• Log into your First Home Partner web portal(external link)