Apply for Discretionary Housing Payment

When people are charged rent it sometimes states in their tenancy agreement that the rent includes a service charge.

Some of these charges can be included within a Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Costs claim, and are called eligible housing costs.

Examples of service charges that may be included in your eligible rent are:

• cleaning of communal areas (such as halls and passageways)
• connection to a communal radio/television ariel
• services provided by caretakers
• children’s play areas

However, there are service charges that you can't claim for, such as:

• fuel and water charges (unless it's for a communal area)
• personal laundry
• cleaning of rooms and windows (other than communal areas)
• transport
• meals or groceries (housing benefit uses set figures as a meal deduction)
• television rental and license fee
• leisure items like recreation facilities
• personal care and support

Ineligible service charges are not paid by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Costs. If there is a shortfall in the amount of housing support your receive and the amount of rent, you must pay your landlord.

Unfortunately, Discretionary Housing Payments are not available to make up this shortfall.

1. Introduction

1.1. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are administered by the council and funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with the Council receiving an allocated budget each year.

1.2. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that DHPs help to:

• safeguard residents in their own homes and prevention of homelessness
• alleviate poverty
• sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness
• keep families together
• encourage residents to gain employment
• support the vulnerable in the community
• help customers through personal and difficult events
• support disabled residents to live independently within their own home
• reduce the need and use of temporary accommodation for homeless households
• support moves to sustainable tenancies with rental deposits’ and help with moving costs

2.  Legislation

2.1. The legislation governing DHP’s is set out in the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001 (SI001/1167) as amended by the Council Tax Benefit Abolition (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/458, which came into force on 1 April 2013; and the Universal Credit (Consequential, Supplementary, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/630), which came into force on 29 April 2013.

2.2. A DHP may be awarded when the Council considers that a claimant requires further financial assistance towards housing costs and is entitled to either:

• Housing Benefit (HB)
• Universal Credit (UC) with housing costs towards rental liability

Please note: while the housing costs of the UC award notification may refer to support for mortgage interest payments, owner-occupiers are not eligible to receive DHPs.

2.3. Council tax liability cannot be met by DHPs, even where a claimant is receiving Local Council Tax Reduction.

2.4. They are not Housing Benefit or Universal Credit payments.

2.5. The Customer must be entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit in the benefit week of the DHP award.

2.6. It is discretionary – a customer does not have a statutory right to a payment. There are no appeal rights, however you have a right to request a revision within one calendar month of the date of the decision.

3. Guidance

3.1. There is no definition of ‘further financial need’ or ‘housing costs’. Each case must be considered on its own merits.

3.2. A DHP can only be made where the customer is entitled to

• Housing Benefit (HB)
• Universal Credit (UC) that includes housing costs towards rental liability and the end of the first assessment period has passed

This includes where the claimant would have been entitled to UC housing costs were it not for the fact that the person occupies specified accommodation or temporary accommodation, and requires further financial assistance with housing costs.

3.3. What a DHP can be used for:

• reductions where the Benefit Cap has been applied, but only in those circumstances where the Housing Costs within a Universal Credit award is reduced by the Benefit Cap
• reduction due to the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy
• reductions as a result of Local Housing Allowance restrictions
• rent officer restrictions such as local reference rent of shared accommodation rate (Housing Benefit)
• housing cost contributions from non-dependants (Universal Credit)
• non-dependent deductions (Housing Benefit)
• rent shortfalls to prevent a household becoming homeless
• policy to limit benefit to two children
• removal of the Family Premium
• income taper reduction (Housing Benefit)
• former Housing Benefit claimants who were previously in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium (Universal Credit)
• any other policy changes that limit the amount payable
• associated housing costs to help the homeless secure permanent accommodations, as long as able to satisfy the criteria (in receipt of either Housing Benefit or Housing Costs via Universal Credits)
• unavoidable liability to pay rent on a former home (Universal Credit)

3.4. A DHP may be awarded as a one-off cost such as for rent in advance, rent deposit or removal costs. The Council must be satisfied the following applies:

• the property is affordable
• the tenant has a valid reason to move
• the tenant is unable to fund the costs incurred
• the deposit or rent in advance is reasonable
• the rent in advance is a mandatory requirement imposed by the landlord
• you must be in receipt of Housing Benefit or Housing Costs via Universal Credits prior to the application being submitted/moving into the property or at the start date of the tenancy

A DHP will be considered for deposits where there is a risk of homelessness, supporting a move from temporary accommodation to a private tenancy or to move to more suitable private accommodation. It will be considered where the request has been made by a Housing Officer of the Council who supports vulnerable customers with an immediate housing need, or steps are being taken to obtain that support from external agencies. 

You must also be in receipt of Housing Benefit or Housing Costs via Universal Credits at the time that the request is made.

3.6    What a DHP cannot be used for:

• ineligible service charges, including provision and costs of white goods, furnishings and carpets
• water, sewerage and environmental services
• increases in rent due to outstanding rent arrears
• benefit suspensions
• sanctions and reductions in benefits
• rent where the person is getting Local Council Tax Reduction but not Housing Benefit or help Housing Costs in Universal Credit
• shortfalls caused by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit overpayment recovery

4. Amount of Award

4.1. No DHP can be made if the annual fund has been exhausted.

4.2. If the purpose of the DHP is to meet an on-going rental liability the actual amount awarded will depend on each case. Regulation 2 of the DFA regulations states that DHPs are specifically for people who require further assistance with housing costs and it would be difficult to argue that an award of anything greater than the rent shortfall was necessary.

4.3. The amount of the award cannot exceed:

• the weekly HB eligible rent in the case of an HB claimant
• the difference between the amount calculated in accordance with Schedule 4 of the UC regulations (i.e. the value stated for housing costs on a UC award notice) and the rental liability, in the case of a UC claimant
• except if for rent advance/deposits

4.4. In the case of a UC claimant, the maximum DHP award is also affected by reductions in the UC housing costs for items such as a maximum LHA rate or housing cost contributions as these form part of the housing costs calculation in Schedule 4 of the UC regulations.

4.5. Where a claimant is in receipt of UC, the maximum DHP award that can be made is established by looking at their UC award notification. Their UC award notice will identify housing costs, and only the shortfall between these costs and the rental liability can be considered when calculating a DHP as a monthly award.

4.6. The weekly or monthly limit does not apply to a DHP for rent in advance or a deposit because a lump sum is being awarded to meet an immediate housing need.

5. Period of Award

5.1. DHP should not be considered as a long-term solution to maintain customers in      accommodation they cannot afford based on their rent liability.

5.2. The start and end dates of an award will be decided based on the individual merits of the application, the facts and the evidence supplied.

6. Backdating

6.1. Each application will be considered on its own merits.

6.2. Although there is no restriction on the length of the period of backdating, it will normally be made in respect of the immediate need rather than a past period. If considering a backdate of more than 1 month the claimant will need to demonstrate that there is good cause and exceptional circumstances as to why they did not request a DHP at that time.

6.3. A DHP can only be considered for the relevant period that is linked to the Housing Benefit or    Universal Credit award.

7. Factors Considered

7.1. The following considerations will be made when determining an application:

• the amount of money within the DHP budget
• the shortfall between Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit and their rental liability
• any steps taken to reduce their rental liability
• seeking advice from the Council’s Housing Team to support them in moving to more affordable accommodation or moving to smaller property more suitable to their circumstances
• the impact of welfare reform changes
• the financial circumstances of the claimant, their partner or anyone else within the household
• the medical circumstances of the claimant, their partner or anyone else within the household
• the income and expenditure of the claimant, their partner and anyone else within the household
• any saving or capital that the claimant or partner hold and if appropriate, members of their family
• the indebtedness of the claimant, partner and their family
• any steps that have been taken to reduce their expenditure, seek advice or maximise their income (including employability and employment)
• adaptations made to a disabled person’s property
• the longer-term sustainability of the claimant’s tenancy
• how long assistance will be required for
• the exceptional nature of the customer and his / her family’s circumstances
• any other circumstances brought to the attention of the Revenues and Benefits Service.

8. The Application Process

8.1.All applications should be made in writing or electronically from the customer, their appointee or a recognised third party acting on their behalf, using the relevant forms.  Claim forms can be found at www.westnorthants.gov.uk/benefits/apply-discretionary-housing-payment.

Application forms and any supporting documentation should be emailed to [email protected] (please put in the subject line Discretionary Housing Payment Application) or by posting it to The Benefits Service, West Northamptonshire Council, The Guildhall, St. Giles Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE.

8.2. It is the responsibility of the customer to provide sufficient information and documentary evidence to support their application. If the customer does not provide the required evidence the application will still be considered, but only based on the information and evidence provided.

8.3. The Council may verify the information provided by the claimant with authorised agencies for example HMRC and DWP.

8.4.Where a request for further information is made it must be provided within two weeks of the request. Failure to provide the information within two weeks, will lead to the refusal of the application.

8.5. To support a customer in their application for a Discretionary Housing Payment, they may be referred to the Council’s Debt and Money advice and/or Housing Team for support and advice in looking for more suitable/affordable accommodation and debt and money advice.

8.6. An award can occasionally be extended without a further claim being submitted where the Council is satisfied that the claimant’s circumstances continue to remain the same, despite the claimant taking all reasonable steps during the period of the original award to alleviate their situation.

9. The Decision-Making Process and payment

9.1. Each decision reached is discretionary. However, the Council will ensure that all decisions are consistent, fair and in-line with the objectives of this policy. The initial application will be considered within 21 days of a signed application and all supporting information being received.

9.2. Notification will be made in writing when making the Discretionary Housing Payment decision. This notification will include the reasons for the decision that was made; the amount (if any) awarded; the period of the award, how, when and to who the payments (if any) will be made and the requirement to report any relevant change in payment.

9.3. Where the claimant is not eligible the Decision Maker will advise the claimant in writing.

9.4. The Decision Maker will award the DHP to the most appropriate person to pay on a case-by-case basis from the following:

• the claimant
• their partner
• an appointee
• their landlord
• any third party to whom it might be most appropriate to make payment

9.5. Payment will be made by electronic transfer (i.e. BACS). 

10. Review of Decision

10.1. Discretionary Housing Payments are not payments of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit and are not subject to the statutory appeals process.

10.2. If a customer disagrees with a decision, they must write to the Council giving reasons why they disagree with the decision that has been made.

10.3. The decision will be reviewed again by an independent officer and the customer will be notified in writing of the outcome of their review and the reasons.

10.4. This decision will be final and binding.

11. After an award is made

11.1. A claimant receiving a DHP must notify the LA of any change of circumstances which may be relevant to their DHP application or award.

11.2. Claimants should advise of changes as soon as reasonably practicable.

12. Stopping DHP payments

12.1. There are instances when a DHP can be stopped before the end date already indicated to the claimant. 

These are if:

• the LA decides that a DHP is being, and/or has been, made because a claimant has misrepresented or failed, fraudulently or otherwise, to disclose a material fact
• the claimant has been paid because of an error
• the claimant no longer needs further financial assistance towards housing costs

13. Recovery of a Discretionary Housing Payment Award

13.1. The Council would consider recovery of a DHP if it decided that the award has been overpaid as a result of:

• a misrepresentation or failure to disclose a material fact
• an error was made when the application was determined

14. Fraud

14.1. The Council will withdraw any award made under this guidance where fraud or error has occurred.    

14.2. The Council will withdraw any award made under this guidance where the person(s) applying for the award have failed to provide, or, has knowingly provided false or misleading information.

14.3    Any case where fraud has occurred will be looked at in conjunction with the Council’s Revenues and Benefits Penalty and Prosecution Policy.