Getting extra help with paying your rent or council tax
- What are Housing Payments? (Crisis Resilience Fund)
Housing Payments are part of the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF). They provide short term, discretionary support for residents who need extra help with rent. These payments are not a benefit and do not form part of your main Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs. Instead, they are separate, discretionary awards made by the council when additional support is needed to prevent hardship or housing instability.
Housing Payments are funded from a fixed annual CRF budget that the council manages. Because this funding is cash limited, once the budget has been fully allocated, no further Housing Payments can be awarded until the next financial year.
Housing Payments offer short‑term financial help if you are struggling to meet your rent and/or council tax. They are discretionary awards, meaning the council decides whether to make a payment based on your circumstances and available funding. They are not a benefit entitlement. Payments come from a fixed annual budget. Once that budget is used, no further awards can be made until the next financial year.
- Who can apply
You can apply for a Housing Payment if you receive Housing Benefit, the housing costs element of Universal Credit, or Local Council Tax Support, and there is still a shortfall between the help you receive and the amount you must pay.
- When Housing Payments cannot be made
We cannot award a discretionary Housing Payment to cover shortfalls caused by ineligible service charges, suspended benefit, sanctions applied by the Department for Work and Pensions, or Housing Benefit being reduced to recover an overpayment.
- How to apply
Please use our online form to request a Housing Payment. We may ask for income, expenditure, and household evidence so we can assess your claim fairly.
- Who we pay
If an award is made, payment may be made to you, your partner, an appointee, or your landlord.
- How long an award lasts
Housing Payments are intended to be temporary. The length of an award depends on your circumstances and the council’s available budget. When an award ends, further support is not guaranteed and a new application may be required.
- Change in circumstances
You must tell us immediately about any change that may affect your Housing Payment. Please complete the Change in Circumstances form on our website.
- If you are overpaid
If you receive more than you are entitled to, we will recover the overpayment by issuing an invoice. You will be notified in writing and given information on how to request a review.
- Reviews and appeal rights
Housing Payments are discretionary and not treated as Housing Benefit. This means the usual Housing Benefit appeal rights do not apply. However, you can request a review of our decision, including decisions about entitlement, amount, backdating, overpayments, or payments made.
- Summary of Housing Payments
Spend on DHP since 2011/12.
Year DWP contribution Local Authority Contribution Total Discretionary Housing Payment Spend and Committed Percentage of Spend 2011/12 13,459.00 20,189.00 12,641.34 93.92 2012/13 30,973.00 46,459.50 11,177.81 36.09 2013/14 114,555.00 99,833.50 67,024.21 58.51 2014/15 101,520.00 50,000.00 88,842.52 87.51 2015/16 107,622.00 50,000.00 77,251.00 71.78 2016/17 123,711.00 nil 93,572.41 75.64 2017/18 186,894.00 nil 85,498.16 45.75 2018/19 172,583.00 nil 76,468.00 44.31 2019/20 141,262.00 nil 91,536.00 64.80 2020/21 178,686.00 nil 108,891.00 60.94 2021/22 120,505.00 nil 105,054.00 87.18 2022/23 85,409.00 nil 67,874.00 79.47 2023/24 85,409.00 nil 85,351.00 99.93 2024/25 85,409.00 nil 85,724.00 100.37 2025/26 85,409.00 nil 41,151 48.18 2026/27 93,829.00 nil - The Housing Payment Policy