How First Home Finance works

First Home Finance is a government subsidy for first-time buyers whose household earns between R 3 501 and R 22 000 a month — too much for a fully subsidised house, often too little for a bond on their own. It used to be called FLISP. It is run by the NHFC, the National Housing Finance Corporation.

Who qualifies

• South African citizen or permanent resident, 18 or older.
• Household gross income between R 3 501 and R 22 000 a month.
• First-time home buyer who has never received a government housing subsidy.
• Married, cohabiting, or single with a financial dependant.
• Home finance approved first — usually a bank home loan, though the NHFC also accepts other approved finance routes (pension-backed loans, instalment sale, rent-to-own).

How much it adds

A sliding scale: the less your household earns, the more the subsidy adds. On the NHFC's 2023/24 scale it runs from about R 27 960 at the top of the band to about R 169 265 at the bottom. The money is not cash in hand — it is paid into the transaction, shrinking your bond or covering the deposit and costs.

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The steps, in order

1. Know your number. Estimate your subsidy and the price band you can reach, so you shortlist homes you can actually buy.
2. Get finance approved in principle. Apply to a bank directly or through a bond originator (originators are paid by the bank, not by you).
3. Find the home. New or existing, house, apartment or townhouse — the subsidy is not limited to new builds.
4. Apply to the NHFC — online at the NHFC's First Home Finance portal — with your ID, proof of income (payslips or, if self-employed, bank statements), marriage/dependant documents and the loan approval.
5. Transfer happens as normal. The conveyancer and the bank handle the subsidy payout inside the deal.

The traps to avoid

• Nobody legitimate charges you to apply. The NHFC application is free. Anyone selling "guaranteed approval" is a scam.
• Sign nothing before finance is approved. An offer to purchase should always be conditional on your loan being granted.
• Budget past the bond: transfer and bond registration costs, rates, levies on sectional title, and insurance. The subsidy can absorb some of these — ask the conveyancer to show you where it goes.

Plain-language guide, not financial or legal advice — and we are not the NHFC, a lender, or an agent. The NHFC's published rules and its decision on your application are the only ones that count. Scale figures as at the NHFC's 2023/24 schedule.