Discretionary Housing Payment and Council Tax Hardship Scheme
Discretionary Housing Payment
Discretionary Housing Payments are a way of helping you if the Housing Benefit you get is not enough to pay your rent. Our Benefits section is responsible for the scheme and will decide whether or not you can get extra help.
Who can apply
- Residents of Derby.
- People receiving Housing Benefit or the Housing Costs Element of Universal Credit.
- Who have shortfall between their rent and Housing Benefit or the Housing Costs Element of Universal Credit.
- It doesn't matter whether you rent from the council, a housing association, a charity, or a private landlord.
- People needing payments to support a move to cheaper alternative accommodation.
Discretionary Housing Payments aren't the same as Housing Benefit. They are special payments which come from a separate fund. For all applications relating to the Discretionary Housing Payment element of this scheme, we will consider things such as:
- the amount you get in Housing Benefit or the Housing Cost Element of Universal Credit and the amount of rent you have to pay
- any efforts you have made to reduce your rent
- the financial and medical circumstances of you and anyone who lives with you
- whether you are a foster carer or going through the approval process to be a foster carer or adoptive parent
- your income and expenditure and anyone who lives with you
- your savings investments and any held by anyone else living with you
- any debts owed by you or anyone else who lives with you
- if you have any exceptional circumstances
- whether you have accessed support from another Council discretionary fund or short-term funding from the Department for Work and Pensions or other organisations
- any other special situations.
Each application is treated on its own merits however some groups may be given priority for certain awards. For example, the following groups will be treated as a priority for this scheme:
- Foster carers.
- Households where substantial disabled adaptations have been undertaken to meet the disability needs of a household member.
- Households with a child who is unable to share a bedroom due to disability and where the following applies:
- There is a claim for child DLA care component at the middle or highest rate in payment.
- There is no entitlement to DLA care component at the middle or highest rate but the child has a disability that may be particularly disruptive.
Council Tax Hardship
Council Tax Hardship payments are a way of helping you if the Council Tax support you get is not enough to pay your Council Tax bill. Our benefits section is responsible for the scheme and will decide whether or not you can get extra help.
Who can apply
- Residents of Derby.
- People receiving Council Tax Support.
- Who have a shortfall to pay between their Council Tax and their Council Tax Support.
Council Tax Hardship payments are not the same as Council Tax Support. They are special payments which come from a separate fund. For all applications relating to this scheme:
- The amount you get in Council Tax Support and the amount of your Council Tax liability.
- The financial and medical circumstances of you and anyone who lives with you.
- Whether you are a foster carer or going through the approval process to be a foster carer or adoptive parent.
- Your income and expenditure and anyone who lives with you.
- Your savings investments and any held by anyone else living with you.
- Any debts owed by you or anyone else who lives with you.
- If you have any exceptional circumstances.
- Whether you have accessed support from another Council discretionary fund or short-term funding from the Department for Work and Pensions or other organisations.
- Any other special situations.
Each application is treated on its own merits however some groups may be given priority for certain awards. For example, the following groups will be treated as a priority for this scheme:
- Foster carers.
- Households where substantial disabled adaptations have been undertaken to meet the disability needs of a household member.
- Whether you now have more Council Tax to pay as a result of the change from Council Tax Benefit to Council Tax Support. You must be able to show us that you are in financial hardship or that you have exceptional personal circumstances.
- Whether you now have more Council Tax to pay as a result of a reduced Council Tax discount or exemption because of the Council Tax technical reforms. You must be able to show us that you are in financial hardship or that you have exceptional personal circumstances.
How much you will be awarded
Every claim we receive is processed on the individual basis by one of our assessors with different awards for each category.
Discretionary Housing Payment
We will tell you how much we have awarded and the period we have given it to you for.
You may not get as much as you need to pay your full rent or the award may not be for as long as you would like.
The Discretionary Housing Payment Fund is usually meant to help with short term emergencies. If you get an award there is no guarantee that another award will be made at a later date even if your circumstances have not changed.
If you are refused an award because of funding and your circumstances have not changed, you can apply again in the new financial year which runs from 1 April to 31 March. This will not guarantee an award as your claim will still have to go through the decision making process.
Council Tax Hardship Payment
We will tell you how much we have awarded and the period we have given it to you for. Any award we make is taken off your Council Tax account to reduce the balance you have to pay.
You may not get as much as you need to pay your full Council Tax or the award may not be for as long as you would like. The award may be subject to variation as any Council Tax support changes are applied.
If you get an award there is no guarantee that another award will be made at a later date even if your circumstances have not changed.
If you are refused an award because of funding and your circumstances have not changed, you can apply again in the new financial year which runs from 1 April to 31 March. This will not guarantee an award as your claim will still have to go through the decision making process.
How to apply
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment and Council Tax Hardship is online.
If we need any more information we will write to you.
Don't worry if you don't have internet access, we provide internet access points at the Council House. We also have a range of reasonable adjustments for disabled people to apply, please email enquiries.benefits@derby.gov.uk and tell us what works best for you.
How to request a review
If you don't agree with your Discretionary Housing Payment or Council Tax Hardship award, you must ask for a review within 21 calendar days of the date of any decision notice.
Once you have submitted your review, we will contact you to inform you of the outcome of your review.