South Africa's First Home Finance subsidy — the programme most buyers still call FLISP — closes its current application window today, 5 October 2026, at 17:00. The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) published that exact deadline when the window opened on 3 August 2026 (firsthomefinance.co.za), so nothing here is a surprise change — it is the cut-off applicants have known about for two months, arriving today.
Can you still apply for First Home Finance online right now?
Yes, until 17:00 today. The application runs entirely online through firsthomefinance.co.za or fhf.nhfc.co.za: you need in-principle approval (IPA) for a home loan from an NCR-registered lender first, since First Home Finance is linked to a home loan rather than a stand-alone grant, then you register, verify your identity and submit the full application with supporting documents before the window shuts. If you're only starting now, getting that in-principle approval in place is the fastest-moving part — bond.co.za's own application checks one submission against every major bank rather than a separate approach to each one. Run your numbers first on the free home loan affordability calculator, then see the full step-by-step process in bond.co.za's earlier coverage of this application window.
Do you pay back First Home Finance?
No. First Home Finance is a once-off government subsidy, not a loan, so the subsidy amount itself is never repaid (fhf.nhfc.co.za). It is applied to reduce the amount you need to borrow for your home loan — or towards your deposit or associated costs — which lowers your monthly repayment. What you do keep repaying, in the ordinary way, is the home loan the subsidy reduced: the subsidy is not a separate debt sitting alongside it.
How long does First Home Finance take to approve an application?
The NHFC allows itself up to 21 working days to process a fully submitted application once every supporting document is in (firsthomefinance.co.za). That means applying before today's 17:00 cut-off gets your application into this intake — it does not mean a decision lands before the window closes. If you submitted recently, expect to wait out that processing window rather than treating today's deadline as your answer date too.
How do you check if you qualify for the subsidy?
You need a gross household income between R3,501 and R22,000 a month, South African citizenship or permanent residency, to be 18 or older, and to be a genuine first-time buyer who has never owned residential property or received a government housing subsidy before (NHFC / firsthomefinance.co.za, independently corroborated by ooba Home Loans). The official eligibility check — and the only one worth trusting over a third-party estimate — runs on firsthomefinance.co.za or fhf.nhfc.co.za. bond.co.za's guide to first-time home buyer grants and subsidies has more on how the sliding-scale subsidy amount works within that income band.
What happens if you miss today's deadline?
Nothing is lost permanently — but nothing new is accepted either, from 17:01 today until the NHFC opens its next window. firsthomefinance.co.za says future windows “will be announced periodically,” and as at 5 October 2026 no reopening date has been confirmed. If you miss this window, you have two practical paths: proceed with a standard home loan application now, without the subsidy, through bond.co.za's affordability calculator and application; or wait for the next window and have your in-principle approval and documents ready in advance, so you are not racing a deadline again. Watch firsthomefinance.co.za directly for the reopening announcement — bond.co.za will also cover it here once the NHFC confirms a date.
Application window dates, process and processing-time figures as published by firsthomefinance.co.za and the NHFC application portal, re-verified 5 October 2026. Eligibility criteria independently corroborated against ooba Home Loans. Last verified: 2026-10-05.