Eligibility

Privacy

This privacy notice applies to personal information collected by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (of which the KiwiBuild Unit is a branch of HUD) through the KiwiBuild website and any aspect of the KiwiBuild scheme (as applicable).

Purpose

The purpose of this privacy statement is to let users of KiwiBuild’s website and the KiwiBuild scheme know when we may collect personal information and what we may do with it. We do not use, share or disclose personal information collected or received through this website except as set out in this statement.

Scope

This privacy statement applies to personal information collected through the KiwiBuild website: www.kiwibuild.govt.nz.

It also applies to personal information that may be collected as part of the KiwiBuild scheme.  This includes any personal information included in an application to become an eligible KiwiBuild purchaser, enter a ballot for a KiwiBuild home, or register as a KiwiBuild developer.  It also includes personal information contained in any contracts you may enter into as part of the KiwiBuild scheme.

Your personal information

Voluntary disclosure of personal information

You can use www.kiwibuild.govt.nz without disclosing any personal information.

You may choose to voluntarily provide personal information through this website (e.g. in the feedback form or when subscribing to news and updates). This information may be viewable by site administrators, HUD staff and third-party contractors who may administrate or work on the site or the KiwiBuild scheme (as appropriate).

Electronic alerts and newsletters

When you subscribe to one of our alerts or newsletters, the details you provide may be stored in a secure third-party database (e.g. Campaign Monitor). You will be asked to provide your name and email address so we can send you future electronic newsletters.

Collection of personal information

HUD may ask or require you to provide personal information (e.g. as part of the registration of interest form, when subscribing to news or updates or as part of the pre-qualification process).  If you do not supply mandatory personal information that may be required in any KiwiBuild application you submit, your application may not be able to be progressed.

HUD may also collect personal information which is contained in any contracts you may enter into as part of the KiwiBuild Scheme.

Holding of information

When you provide personal information, unless otherwise indicated, it will be held by HUD. It may be stored or accessed on behalf of HUD by authorised third parties (such as third-party contractors) to the extent that is necessary (e.g. for them to administrate or work on the site). We will store and keep your personal information secure in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993 and any agents will be subject to HUD’s information security and privacy requirements.

Use of personal information

HUD will generally only use personal information provided to us for the purpose you provided it.  These purposes include administering the KiwiBuild scheme, assessing an application you have submitted and monitoring or enforcing compliance with contractual obligations you have agreed to under the KiwiBuild scheme.  

We may also use the information you provide to:

• deliver our services, including to administer, evaluate and improve the KiwiBuild website, and to action or respond to the information you have provided;
• for statistical or research purposes, including to provide aggregated reports on the KiwiBuild Scheme.  You will not be personally identifiable when we use your information for these purposes; and
• any other reasons permitted under the Privacy Act (e.g. with your consent, for a directly related purpose, or where the law permits or requires it).

Disclosure of information

HUD will generally not share personal information that is provided or collected from you unless it is necessary to do so for the purpose for which you gave us the information (e.g. to monitor or enforce compliance with obligations agreed to under the KiwiBuild scheme) or where you authorise the disclosure.   HUD will not otherwise disclose personal information provided or collected from you unless required or otherwise permitted by law.

Records and retention of personal information

HUD will only retain personal information as long as it is required for the purposes for which the information may lawfully be used.

Public records

Where any information provided (which may include personal information) to or through this site constitute public records, it will be retained to the extent required by the Public Records Act 2005.

HUD may also be required to disclose information under the Official Information Act 1982 or to a Parliamentary Select Committee or Parliament in response to a Parliamentary Question.

Security

HUD websites (of which KiwiBuild is one) have security measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse and alteration of information under our control. In order to maintain the cybersecurity of HUD systems and information, HUD systems are subject to ongoing monitoring (including activity logging), analysis and auditing. We may use information about your use of our websites and other IT systems to prevent unauthorised access or attacks on these systems or to resolve such events. We may use this information even if you are not involved in such activity. HUD may utilise services from one or more 3rd party suppliers to monitor or maintain the cybersecurity of its systems and information. These 3rd party suppliers will have access to monitoring and logging information as well as information processed on HUD websites and other IT systems.

Rights of access and correction

Your rights

You have the right to:

• find out from us whether we hold personal information about you
• access that information; and, if applicable
• request corrections to that information

If HUD has a good reason for refusing a request for correction, you are entitled to request that a statement be attached to the information of the correction that was sought but not made.

If you want to check personal information that we hold, please write to:

Privacy Officer
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
PO Box 82
Wellington 6140

For more information on the privacy laws in New Zealand and contact details for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, please visit the Privacy Commissioner's website.

Collecting statistical information using cookies via Google Analytics

We may use cookies to gather data about trends in website usage using a tool called Google Analytics. This data will be viewable by website administrators and certain other HUD staff. It may also be shared with other government agencies. This information is aggregated and it does not identify you personally.

Cookies

Browser or ‘web’ cookies are small text files that are sent by a website and stored on your computer's hard drive to collect information about how you browse the website.

Cookies are used to:

• measure how you use the website so it can be updated and improved based on your needs
• remember the notifications you’ve seen so that we don’t show them to you again

You can read Google’s privacy statement, and access a Google Analytics opt-out tool, at the Google Safety Centre.

You can manually disable cookies at any time. Check your browser's 'Help' to find out how (disabling cookies will not affect your ability to use this website).

Data collected may include:

• your IP address
• the search terms you used
• the pages you accessed on our Site and the links you clicked on
• the date and time you visited the site
• the referring site (if any) from which you clicked to reach this site
• the device you used to access the site
• your operating system (e.g., Windows XP, Mac OS X)
• the type of web browser you use (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox)
• other things like your screen resolution, the release of your installed Flash version and the language setting of your browser.

This privacy statement was last updated on: 16 May 2019

To be eligible to buy a KiwiBuild home, you must be:
• A New Zealand citizen
• A New Zealand permanent resident
• A resident visa holder who is "ordinarily resident in New Zealand"

If you are applying with a spouse, partner or de-facto partner, only one of you will need to meet these requirements.

If you are a resident visa holder, you are considered to be "ordinarily resident in New Zealand" if you:
• have been living in New Zealand for at least the past 12 months; and
• have been in New Zealand for at least 183 days in total in the past 12 months; and
• are tax resident in New Zealand, meaning that you meet the criteria above and you have a long-term connection to New Zealand (e.g you have work or family ties to the country).

Other visa types are not eligible, even if you normally reside in New Zealand.

If you have never had a legal interest in a home in New Zealand or overseas, then you meet the property ownership eligibility criteria for KiwiBuild.

If you currently have a legal interest in a home in New Zealand or overseas, you are not eligible. If you are in a relationship with a person who is the registered owner of a home (e.g. you are married to, or in a civil union or de facto partnership with the person whose name is on the title to a home), and if the home is defined as relationship property in the Property Relationships Act 1976, you are not eligible.

If you have previously had a legal interest in a home, but you no longer own a home, you may still be eligible to buy a KiwiBuild home. You must meet all other criteria and your realisable assets cannot add up to more than:

• $120,000 for all applicants who are buying a KiwiBuild home in Auckland or Queenstown Lakes District
• $100,000 for applicants who are buying a KiwiBuild home in the following locations
   - Hamilton City
   - Tauranga City
   - Western Bay of Plenty District
   - Kapiti Coast District
   - Porirua City
   - Upper Hutt City
   - Hutt City
   - Wellington City
   - Nelson City
   - Tasman District
   - Waimakariri District
   - Christchurch City
   - Selwyn District
• $80,000 for applicants who are buying a KiwiBuild home in the rest of New Zealand.

Realisable assets are belongings that you can sell to help buy a home. The following are considered to be realisable assets:
• money in bank accounts (including fixed and term deposits)
• shares, stocks and bonds
• investments in banks or financial institutions
• building society shares
• boat or caravan (if the value is over $5,000)
• other vehicles (such as classic vehicles not being used as your usual method of transport)
• other individual assets valued over $5,000.

Your KiwiSaver funds do not count as realisable assets, even if you want to use that money to help purchase your home.

Annual income before tax:
Income is money received from any source, including wages, salary, overtime pay, pensions, investment income, etc. Proof of income must be provided in Part C. The maximum household income for KiwiBuild eligibility is:
• One purchaser = $120,000
• Two or more purchasers = $180,000

Annual income does not include:
• Tax credits such as Working for Families
• Investment income such as KiwiSaver or retirement investments
• Non-taxable income such as allowances and scholarships
• Secondary benefits such as Accommodation Supplements

Speak to your financial institution to determine a pre-approval amount based on your cirucmstances. To enter a ballot for a specific KiwiBuild home, you will need pre-approval for the price of that particular home. If you have pre-approved finance for less than the home you want to enter a ballot for, or your pre-approval will have expired by the close of that ballot, you will need to provide current and sufficient proof of finance at the time of entering the ballot.