Discretionary housing payment
Discretionary housing payments are payments that can be awarded in addition to your housing benefit and universal credit.
In this section:
Eligibility for discretionary housing payments (DHPs)
Discretionary housing payments are payments that can be awarded in addition to your housing benefit and universal credit.
DHPs are awarded from a cash limited budget where we consider additional help is needed.
DHPs can be awarded for the following:
We cannot award DHPs to help with ineligible amounts included in your rent, for example, certain service charges, gas, electric, food and water rates.
DHPs are not available to help with any shortfall in council tax reduction.
You can only receive a DHP towards your rent if you are in receipt of, or will be entitled to housing benefit or Universal Credit with a housing element.
You will have to demonstrate that due to your personal circumstances you need extra help with your housing costs.
You can qualify for a discretionary housing payment if:
This list is a guide only and will not cover all circumstances. Each case is considered individually.
We also look at other factors such as:
Things to be aware of when using our online system:
Bear in mind that you may be asked for further evidence once your application has been checked by an officer.
Please note: Access to the online application will be unavailable due to system maintenance every evening, between 11.15pm and 12.15am. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
If you receive an error message, you can save your application and submit the form later. Ensure you submit it within 14 days of starting the application.