Discretionary Housing Payments

What are Discretionary Housing Payments?

Discretionary Housing Payments are additional payments that the Council may be able to make to give you further assistance towards your housing costs. Normally this is paid to claimants with circumstances that require such payments and generally are only awarded  for a short period.

To qualify for Discretionary Housing Payments you must:

• Be in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit
  
  And
• Require further assistance in order to meet your housing costs.

There is not a definitive list covering every situation that will be allowed a Discretionary Housing Payment. Each application will be considered according to its own merits and as the name implies is at the discretion of the Local Authority..

Below are some examples of when a Discretionary Housing Payment may be made:

• The family used to live some miles away from the hospital but have moved nearer so that the child can be visited.
• A disabled person lives in a ground floor flat near to a clinic they attend for therapy. They could get a cheaper flat, but it would mean higher transport costs they can't afford.
• In expensive accommodation -To make up the shortfall in rent between the Rent Officer decision and the actual amount of rent being charged for a period to enable the claimant to look for cheaper alternative accommodation.

How do I claim Discretionary Housing Payments?

You will need to fill in a Discretionary Housing Payments application form which can be obtained  from the Benefits Service:

Contact Details