Discretionary Housing Payments
What are Discretionary Housing Payments?
These are payments that we can make if your Housing or Council
Tax Benefit is less than the full amount charged. We cannot,
however, make a DHP to cover the cost of ineligible amounts
included in your rent (ie things like fuel, water or food charges).
In addition, DHP's cannot be made for Council Tax where Second
Adult Rebate is in payment.
Who Can Claim a Discretionary Housing Payment?
Anyone who is in receipt of Housing Benefit can claim a DHP
towards their rent. Anyone who is in receipt of Council Tax Benefit
can claim a DHP towards their Council Tax. The Council must be
satisfied that you need further help with housing costs. The
sort of things we would need to look at when deciding on a DHP
are:
- whether you have any savings (savings over £3000 would normally
mean that you cannot get a DHP);
- whether you could get help in cash or 'kind' from any other
source;
- whether anyone else in the house (such as non-dependants) are
able to help financially; what assets you have which might be used
to help meet the shortfall;
- whether you have any outstanding loans or debts;
- whether you could re-arrange your finances to ease the
situation (and whether you are currently receiving or have received
any debt counselling);
- what your total income is - all income and all savings
(including those partly or fully disregarded for Housing and
Council Tax Benefit) will be taken into consideration.
How Much Could I Get and for How Long?
There is no limit to how much DHP you could receive (except that
we cannot pay more than your full, eligible rent or full Council
Tax). There is also no limit to how long we can pay a DHP
for. However, the amount that we are allowed, by law, to
spend on DHP's in a year is strictly limited. It is quite possible
that the DHP will not cover all of the shortfall between your full
eligible rent or full Council Tax, and the amount of Benefit
paid.
How will DHP's be Paid?
Although DHP's are not payments of Housing/Council Tax Benefit,
they will be paid together with Housing/Council Tax Benefit.
Council Tax DHP's will therefore be credited to your Council Tax
account. A DHP made towards your rent will be sent to
either you or your landlord in the same way as your housing benefit
payments are.
How do I Apply for a DHP?
You will need to complete a 'Discretionary Housing Payment'
application form. This will normally give us all the information we
need to decide on whether you can receive a DHP. If we need to, we
will write to you or ask you to call in to discuss the claim in
more detail. If you apply for a DHP within one month of being
notified about your Housing/Council Tax Benefit entitlement, the
DHP can normally start from the date your Benefit entitlement
started.
What About Changes in Circumstances?
If your circumstances change, you must notify the Council,
in writing within one month. We will look at the DHP that we
awarded and see whether it needs to be changed. If we think you can
get more DHP, we may be able to pay some more. If you are entitled
to less you may have to pay back some or all of the DHP we have
paid.
What Happens if I Disagree with the Amount or Period of
DHP?
If you disagree with our decision about the DHP you should write
to us within one month of the date of the letter telling you about
the DHP. Another Senior Officer will look at the decision and
change it if they think it is wrong. We will then write to you and
tell you the outcome.