Kāinga Ora First Home Loan: who qualifies and how it works

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026. Scheme rules change, so check the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan page before you apply.

Short answer

The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan lets eligible first home buyers buy with a 5% deposit. Kāinga Ora doesn’t lend you the money. A participating bank or lender does, and Kāinga Ora underwrites the loan, which is why the lender will accept a smaller deposit. To qualify, your income over the last 12 months has to be under the caps below, and you have to live in the home.

Who can get a First Home Loan

You need to meet all of these:

• Your gross income over the past 12 months is $95,000 or less as a single buyer with no dependants, or $150,000 or less as a single buyer with dependants or combined for two or more buyers.
• You’re a New Zealand citizen, permanent resident or resident visa holder who normally lives here.
• You’re a first home buyer, or a previous owner in a similar financial position to a first home buyer.
• You’re buying a home to live in, not a rental. You can’t rent out a home bought with a First Home Loan.
• You have at least a 5% deposit. KiwiSaver can count towards it.

The income cap looks backwards at the last 12 months, not your salary today. I’ve seen people miss out because a pay rise or a bonus landed just before they applied, so it’s worth checking the timing with me early.

What it costs

Kāinga Ora charges a lenders’ mortgage insurance premium of 1.2% of the loan. You can pay it upfront or add it to the loan. Your lender may also charge its own fees, and the interest rate is set by the lender, not Kāinga Ora. Compare that with a standard low-deposit bank loan, where you’d usually pay a low equity margin until you reach 20% equity, and work out which costs less for you.

Is there a house price cap?

Not on the First Home Loan itself. Kāinga Ora removed the house price caps in 2022, so the limit is what a lender will lend you based on your income and deposit. The caps you’ll still see mentioned online were for the old First Home Grant, which has closed. The bank still has to be comfortable you can afford the repayments, and the Reserve Bank’s debt-to-income rules still apply, although new builds are exempt from those.

The property still has to stack up

Kāinga Ora has a maintenance clause: the home shouldn’t need major repairs. I’ve written about that separately in the Kāinga Ora maintenance clause. Get a building report before you go unconditional, because a lender can decline a First Home Loan on a house that needs a lot of work.

How to apply

You apply through a participating lender, not Kāinga Ora. Only some banks and lenders offer it, and each one still runs its own credit assessment, so one might say yes where another says no. Kāinga Ora keeps the current list on its website.

This is where an adviser helps. I know which lenders are offering the First Home Loan right now, how each one treats things like overtime, boarder income or a short time in a new job, and I’ll package your application for the lender most likely to approve it. You might also want to check the deposit calculator and read using KiwiSaver for your first home.

Building on multiple-owned Māori land? That’s a different scheme. See the Kāinga Whenua loan.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a First Home Loan to build?

Some participating lenders will let you build a new home with one, including turnkey contracts. It depends on the lender, so ask before you sign a building contract. See construction loans.

Can I use KiwiSaver as my 5% deposit?

Yes, if you’re eligible to withdraw it. Most people use KiwiSaver as some or all of the deposit.

What if we earn slightly over the income cap?

Then you won’t qualify for this scheme, but a standard low-deposit bank loan or a new build may still work. The Reserve Bank’s rules let banks do some lending with less than a 20% deposit.

Is the First Home Loan the same as the First Home Grant?

No. The First Home Grant was a cash payment that has closed. The First Home Loan is still running.

Want to know if you qualify? Book a free chat.

This article is general information only and isn’t personalised financial advice. Mortgage Sense is a trading name of Yatin Kainth, a Financial Adviser (FSP1007497) providing advice under the Mortgage Managers licence (North West Group Holdings Ltd, FSP682791). See the Disclosure Statement.