Apply for benefits and financial support

Discretionary Housing Payment is for people that get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit but still find it hard to pay their rent.

How to qualify

You may be entitled to a Discretionary Housing Payment if you receive Housing Benefit or Housing Costs within Universal Credit and any of the following apply:

• you have an extra bedroom and are affected by the bedroom tax
• your benefits are restricted due to the Benefit Cap (GOV.UK)
• the income of the household is low
• there are Local Housing Allowance (GOV.UK) restrictions
• your Housing Benefit has been restricted

How to apply

You'll need to fill out one of the following forms and return it to us using the contact details at the bottom of the page:

• Discretionary Housing Payment application form for general applicants (PDF, 133kb)
• Discretionary Housing Payment application form for council and housing association tenants (PDF, 149kb)
• Discretionary Housing Payment application form for private tenants (PDF, 152kb)

If you have any difficulties with these forms contact us using the details below.

After you apply 

We'll inform you of our decision in writing.

The total amount of money that we have available to spend in these cases is limited. That means that financial constraints are a factor in our decision on any individual case.

The payments are discretionary and there are no formal appeal rights against a decision made by the local authority not to make a payment.