Discretionary Housing Payment
If you have been awarded
Housing and or Council Tax Benefit, but the award is less than your
eligible rent or Council Tax, and you are finding it difficult to
make up the shortfall, you may be entitled to some extra help.
The Council can award a Discretionary
Housing Payment (DHP) where someone needs extra help.
DHPs are not Housing or Council Tax Benefit,
but you must be in receipt of one or both of these benefits to be
able to claim.
Discretionary Housing Payments (
DHPs
) are an extra
award of financial help that can be awarded for a short period only
to get you out of a financial situation.
The funding for
DHPs
comes from Central
Government and is limited each year, so when it has been spent no
more awards can be made. Therefore not everyone who claims a
Discretionary Housing Payment will be given assistance.
A Discretionary
Housing Payment cannot help you with:-
- Ineligible charges e.g.
heating, water rates.
- Your rent if you are only
entitled to Council Tax Benefit
- Increase to cover rent
arrears
- Amounts of Housing and or
Council Tax Benefit that have been suspended
You also cannot receive a Discretionary Housing Payment to make
up for any reduction in other social security benefits as a result
of any sanctions applied by the Benefits Agency
Each individual case will be considered on its own merits. We
will look at the individual circumstances of your claim and will
consider the other options available to you before deciding whether
to award a Discretionary Housing Payment.
The amount awarded is entirely at the discretion of the
council.
Examples of
circumstances when a
DHP
might be awarded
are:
- If you are having
unavoidable extra expenses due to unusual circumstances such as
someone being ill or in hospital.
- If you are having
difficulty paying the shortfall in your rent because your rent is
restricted to less than the full rent and you do not want to get
into arrears whilst you are seeking cheaper alternative
accommodation.
- If there are special
reasons why you need to stay in the accommodation.
The above list does not
cover all the circumstances in which a
DHP
might be
awarded.
Your entitlement to Housing
Benefit and or Council Tax Benefit plus any award of Discretionary
Housing Payment must not be more than your
eligible rent or liability for Council Tax.
How to apply for a
DHP
If you think you may
qualify for this additional help and would like to apply, please
refer to the section on Applying for Housing Benefit/ Council Tax
Benefit.