Skip to content

How can I buy a house with no money in South Africa?

If you’re a low to middle-income earner, home ownership is now a possibility thanks to FLISP, a government programme that subsidises home loans.

In order to qualify, you must have an income of R3 501 to R22 000 per month.

Other FLISP requirements

  • You must be a South African citizen with permanent residency in South Africa.
  • You must not have received a government housing subsidy before.
  • You must be married or cohabiting OR single with financial dependents.
  • You must be over 18 years old.
  • You must not have owned a fixed residential property before.

You used to have to apply for a home loan and have the application approved before you could apply for FLISP, but as of April 2022, this is no longer necessary. You can now use other sources of finance to apply, including:

  • the beneficiary’s pension/provident fund loan
  • a co-operative or community-based savings scheme, i.e. stokvel
  • the Government Employees Housing Scheme
  • any other Employer-Assisted Housing Scheme
  • an unsecured loan
  • an Instalment Sale Agreement or Rent-to-own Agreement

The application process usually takes 7 days. If your application is granted, the subsidy will be paid into your home loan account.

You do not have to repay this subsidy at any point!