Mortgage costs

It depends on how you paid for these costs as to what's included as home ownership costs.

Paid with your mortgage

The ongoing mortgage repayment to cover the costs of essential repairs and maintenance can be included as mortgage costs.

Paid under the 'Loans for Major Repairs Advances to Homes Scheme'

The interest and principal costs you must pay can be included as mortgage costs.

Paid with help from us (eg, a Special Needs Grant)

The amount you're repaying to us can be included as mortgage costs, eg $15 a week.

Paid them yourself

If you paid for essential repairs and maintenance in the last 52 weeks, you can include this as 'repairs and maintenance' costs.

Enter this amount when you're asked the question 'Did you have to pay for repairs and maintenance to your home in the last 52 weeks?' This question is in the 'House insurance and House Repairs and Maintenance' section.

If you're in a rent to buy situation, you need to check your rental contract. You can include payments in your rental contract as mortgage costs that are:

• mortgage payments
• payments made towards a deposit.

Your contract might say you're responsible for other home ownership costs, eg rates. If that's the case, you can include these in the other relevant sections of the application form (where we ask you about these costs).

You may be in a situation where you're in arrears for your mortgage, rates or insurance. This means you owe extra money for these on top of your normal payments. It could be that you've missed a payment and now have to pay it back.

Arrears cannot be included in any of your home ownership costs. You can still include your normal payments as part of your home ownership costs. Include these in the relevant sections of the application form (where we ask you about these costs).

If you're renting the land that your home is on, the rent you pay can be included as mortgage costs.

For example, you pay rental for leasehold land or rental for Maori land, that your property is on.

If you live in a caravan or motor home, you can include these as mortgage costs:

• hire purchase costs for your caravan or motor home
• rental or mortgage costs for land.

If you live in a retirement village and have a 'Licence to Occupy', you can include costs related to your own unit or villa as home ownership costs.

You can include these in the relevant sections of the application form (where we ask you about these costs).

For example:

• repayments on a loan or mortgage taken out to obtain the licence to occupy your villa or unit
• local authority rates
• water rates
• insurance premiums relating to your villa or unit (excluding contents insurance)
• charges for essential repairs and maintenance relating to your villa or unit (see the 'Essential repairs and maintenance' heading on this page)

You can't include costs related to the retirement village in general, or for additional services. For example:

• village outgoings for construction or further development of the village
• service charges, eg:
  • home care services
  • the provision of meals
• utility charges that include the supply of:
  • electricity
  • gas
  • telephone
  • tolls
  • television
  • other services and utilities
• health service charges, including provision of medical and pharmaceutical services
• village outgoings connected with common facilities within the centre, eg:
  • recreation centre
  • sports facilities.

If you don't live in the property you have home ownership costs for, you generally can't include any of these costs in this application.

There are some exceptions, for example:

• you're living in a refuge
• you're living in emergency housing due to violence
• you can't live in your home due to the Canterbury earthquake.