Apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP)

DHPs provide short-term support to help with rent or housing costs.

They can also cover:

rent deposits
rent in advance
costs associated with taking up a new tenancy (for example, moving costs or arrears)

You're eligible to apply if you're responsible for paying rent, and you get either:

housing benefit, or
Universal Credit that includes the housing element

DHPs are not for:

services that are included in your rent
making up reductions in benefit due to sanctions or overpayments
paying an increase in your rent due to arrears
paying your council tax

DHPs are limited, so we have to make sure we are helping the people who need it the most. We will consider your income, expenditure and personal circumstances. We will also look at what you’ve done to improve your own financial situation before making a decision.

Apply for a DHP

Supporting evidence for a DHP claim

To support your application, you’ll need to provide the following evidence:

proof of your rent payments
proof of your rent arrears
Universal Credit award that proves inclusion of the housing element
proof of deposit or rent in advance amounts
recent bank statements

There is no formal right of appeal for a DHP decision. If your application is declined you can ask us to reconsider, and provide further evidence to support this.

How you can improve your finances

Make savings in your spending

The DHP fund is not available to support a lifestyle. We will look at areas where we feel you could make savings - for example, you could reduce a television package, get a better utilities deal or switch supermarkets.

Speak to your landlord

If you rent privately and you are a good tenant your landlord may accept a lower rent for a short period of time. All landlords should be willing to discuss a repayment plan on existing arrears.

Increase your income

You might be able to increase your work hours, or take on agency work if you’re looking for something full-time. You may be entitled to other benefits – for example, if you are unable to work, Personal Independence Payments may help.

Find an affordable home

Find out more about your housing options and how we can help you.

Is the household contributing?

Working out if other members of the household could contribute more, even short-term, may get you through a difficult patch.