Extra help with paying your rent and council tax

The council offers limited funds to provide extra assistance with rent or council tax payments. These are known as Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) and are not part of your regular benefit entitlement. 

DHPs have been designed to offer short-term support to help you adjust to changes in your circumstances.

You may be eligible for a DHP if:

  • you have a shortfall between the amount of Housing Benefit/Universal Credit housing element you receive and the amount of rent you pay
  • you're struggling to pay your rent as you're considered to be under-occupying a council or housing association property (often referred to as the 'bedroom tax')
  • you're currently in a property you cannot afford and need to pay a bond or deposit on a more affordable property, or want to move out of temporary or unsuitable accommodation
  • you've left your home due to domestic violence and need financial support to move to alternative accommodation
  • you need help with the cost of moving (depending on the reasons why you want to move - we cannot offer support if you're moving through personal choice)
  • you need help to clear rent arrears in order to remain in your tenancy (dependent on whether you were in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit when the arrears built up).

Each case is dealt with on an individual basis, so please provide as much detailed information as possible when applying for a DHP.

Who can apply

If you want extra help to pay your rent, you must be receiving Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

If you want extra help to pay your council tax, you do not need to be receiving council tax reduction. You can still ask for extra help as long as your name appears on the council tax bill.

How to apply

If you pay rent for your home and receive Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, you can apply for a discretionary award.

You can also apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment if you own your home and receive council tax reduction.

Apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment

IMPORTANT - evidence to support your DHP application

Please provide as much information as you can on the application form.

You'll need to provide supporting evidence such as current rent statements and bank statements showing income and expenditure.

We consider every DHP application once we have received the completed application form and the requested supporting evidence.

Your application may be rejected if you fail to provide the requested supporting evidence.

How we make payments

If you receive Housing Benefit from the council, you'll receive the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to help with your rent along with the payment of Housing Benefit.

If you're receiving the housing costs element of Universal Credit, we'll pay the DHP in monthly instalments directly into your bank account.

In some cases we may pay the discretionary award as a lump sum rather than in instalments.

If you receive extra help towards your council tax, we'll credit the DHP to your council tax account and send you an amended bill.

Challenging a decision

If you think we have made the wrong decision, the first thing to do is to contact us and ask us to look at the decision again.

With regards to extra help towards your rent, there is no formal right of appeal to an independent tribunal run by the Tribunal Service. This is because the DHPs are discretionary and made outside of the Housing Benefit or Universal Credit scheme.

If you think we have made an error in law you may be able to challenge a decision through the High Court. You would need to seek independent legal advice regarding this.

If you do not agree with a decision regarding extra help with council tax, you may be able to appeal to an independent appeal run by The Valuation Tribunal.

View more information about Valuation Tribunals

In this section:

  1. You are here: Extra help with paying your rent and council tax Extra help with paying your rent and council tax
  2. You are here: Who can apply Who can apply
  3. You are here: How to apply How to apply
  4. You are here: How we make payments How we make payments
  5. You are here: Challenging a decision Challenging a decision