What help is available, how to claim, and how we make our decision
Temporary help with your rent: Housing Payments
If you receive Housing Benefit, or Universal Credit with a housing element, but need extra help to pay your rent, we might be able to give you some temporary help with a Housing Payment through the Government’s Crisis and Resilience Fund.
Housing Payments are given on a short-term basis to give you time to improve your situation. How long we can help for will depend on your personal circumstances.
How to apply
You can apply for the fund using our form below.
To apply for a Housing Payment you'll need:
- to provide proof of your income and outgoings (please upload this with your form)
- your award letter if you're on Universal Credit with a housing element
- full name and address of your landlord
- a bank account for us to make payments into
- three months of bank statements for all accounts
What Housing Payments can cover
Housing Payments can cover:
- reductions in Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit due to benefit changes, for example the Benefit Cap and Spare Room Reduction
- reductions in Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit due to non-dependant deductions
- shortfalls in Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit for another reason; we’ll look at each case individually
What Housing Payments cannot cover
Housing Payments cannot cover:
- service charges not covered by Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit - for example meals, water charges and heating
- increases in your rent to cover rent arrears
- reductions in your benefit as a result of Child Support
- shortfalls in Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit caused by an overpayment we are recovering from you (we may be able to reduce the weekly recovery rate if you're in financial hardship, contact us for more advice)
- amounts of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit that have been suspended
How we decide if you’re able to claim
We look at each case while trying to make sure we help people who are most in need. There are no set rules that will make you qualify automatically. We will look at the following:
- household income and savings
- outstanding debts
- household outgoings, and if all expenditure is necessary
- what action you have already taken to improve your long-term situation
- any other relevant information
Once we have made our decision, we’ll write to you to let you know whether we have approved your application.
What if my request is turned down?
If your application is unsuccessful, there is no right to appeal. However, you can ask us to look at the decision again, giving your reasons for asking us to do this and any other evidence.
I need more help with this fund
If you need further help with applying please visit our contact us page.