Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are extra payments to help pay rent. They can be awarded to you if you are already receiving Housing Benefit or get the housing element of universal credit but need more help with your housing costs.
We cannot give a payment for:
- Service or support charges not covered by Housing Benefit
- Any council tax liability
- Money taken from your Housing Benefit because your Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseekers Allowance has been sanctioned
- Housing payments if they are suspended
- Rent if the only benefit you get is Second Adult Rebate
- Increases in rent due to outstanding rent payments
We will advise you in writing if your application has been successful or not, and pay any amount you receive with your normal housing benefit payment. We look at each case individually, therefore how much we give you will depend on your circumstances.
For help with your rent, your payment will be based on your full rent less any amounts you have to pay for services. We cannot pay anything above either of these figures.
There is no guarantee that we will definitely give you a Discretionary Housing Payment, as the Council are only permitted to spend a certain amount of payments per year.