The Housing Minister has apologised to home buyers left out-of-pocket and stressed by the messy cut-off of the First Home Grant scheme.
Now Newshub can reveal the Government has caved to pressure and worked up a quick-fix for those affected by the sudden and unexpected policy change.
"It's been quite a long couple of weeks," said first-home buyer Sharnae.
A long, stressful couple of weeks for Sharnae after the Government unexpectedly cut the First Home Grant as she was about to use it for her deposit.
"I've been waiting to hear back around the Kāinga Ora grants and whether to go ahead or not, so that's been quite stressful just yeah, waiting to hear," she told Newshub.
Sharnae was relying on $10,000 for her deposit for a home she was partnering with a charity to buy.
She had the grant approved but her settlement day was pushed out. Then, the grant expired and it was suddenly ripped away.
After Newshub reported her plight two weeks ago, Housing Minister Chris Bishop intervened.
"This is essentially a small anomaly that's been created by the closure of the scheme," he said at the time.
He instructed housing officials at Kāinga Ora to create an exemption so that people whose grants have expired while waiting for a delayed settlement date will still be able to access the grant.
They're contacting affected people on Friday.
"We are moving quickly just to make sure every person has a reasonable expectation to use the scheme, can use it," said Bishop.
Applicants will need to meet two criteria to be considered for an exemption: They must have had existing pre-approval that had expired prior to the announcement of the First Home Grant closure, and have signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement on, or before, May 22 of this year.
Buyers must meet both criteria to be considered, along with all other First Home Grant eligibility criteria.
"We're fixing it up. As LV Martin used to say, it's the putting right that counts!" Bishop said.
Sharnae told Newshub she's grateful the Government has come up with a solution but she should never have had to go through this.
"Initially, I was quite frustrated with how it was handled, wasn't much forethought to the impact it would have - quite dramatically," she said.
"I apologise to them for the slightly messy end to the way the scheme has happened," Bishop said on Friday.
The Housing Minister didn't have a definitive number of those eligible for the exemption, but said nine people had been in touch with his office directly and he expects there to be more.
Exemptions apply only to properties which already have a signed Sale and Purchase Agreement. They can't be transferred to another property.
Anyone who believes they are eligible must email Kāinga Ora by next Friday 14 June to be considered.
