Your benefit stopped covering the rent, the gap has turned into arrears, and someone has told you to apply for a discretionary housing payment. In England you still can, but since 1 April 2026 it has a new name, the Housing Payment from the council's Crisis and Resilience Fund. That is a DWP fund run by your council, so search its website for "Housing Payment" too.
This guide is for renters in England, with a short note for Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own schemes.
What is a discretionary housing payment?
A discretionary housing payment is a top-up from the council when Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit does not cover your housing costs. The DWP's Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance says DHPs ended in England on 31 March 2026 and were replaced by the Housing Payment, which will "closely replicate" the old rules.
Discretionary means there is no automatic right to it. Each council has a limited pot and decides each case on its facts, so evidence matters.
Who can get a discretionary housing payment?
You must be entitled to Housing Benefit, or to Universal Credit that includes the housing element for rent. If you qualify but your first payment has not arrived yet, you still count. Private, housing association and council tenants can all apply.
If you get neither benefit, ask your county council, or your unitary council if you have only one, about a Crisis Payment from the same fund. These are not limited to people on benefits. Unsure what you are entitled to? GOV.UK lists benefits calculators.
People with no recourse to public funds cannot get a Housing Payment, because it depends on entitlement to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
A Housing Payment will not cover a shortfall caused by ineligible service charges, a rent increase caused by arrears, a benefit sanction, recovery of a benefit overpayment, or benefit suspended while your entitlement is checked. Shortfalls caused by the benefit cap, the bedroom tax or Local Housing Allowance limits can be covered.
Can you get a discretionary housing payment for rent arrears?
Yes. In R (Gargett) v Lambeth LBC the Court of Appeal confirmed that a council can pay off arrears as a lump sum. The new guidance says the same applies to Housing Payments. The council takes off any benefit already paid for that period.
If you rent privately in England, Ground 8 is a mandatory ground for possession. The landlord must show at least 3 months' rent unpaid if you pay monthly, or 13 weeks' rent if you pay weekly or fortnightly. Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 sets the test at two moments:
Both at the date of the service of the notice under section 8 of this Act relating to the proceedings for possession and at the date of the hearing
Put simply, if a Housing Payment brings the arrears below the threshold before the hearing, Ground 8 fails. On rent of £1,000 a month, that means getting the arrears under £3,000 by the hearing day.
The landlord can still use the discretionary arrears grounds, where the judge weighs the whole picture. Schedule 2 also ignores rent unpaid only because the housing element of a Universal Credit award had not yet been paid to you. It does not ignore a council Housing Payment that has been agreed but not yet paid, or a gap between your rent and your benefit.
Housing association tenants in social housing are still on the older version of Ground 8. It has a lower threshold of 2 months' or 8 weeks' rent and no Universal Credit carve-out.
If a hearing is coming up, tell the court and your landlord that you have applied, and bring the application and any decision letter. In a Ground 8 claim the court will only put the hearing off to let a payment arrive in exceptional circumstances (North British Housing Association v Matthews), so apply as early as you can. See what happens at a possession hearing, defending a Section 8 claim and, if other debts are piling up, Breathing Space.
Can the council help with a deposit or rent in advance?
Yes. The guidance counts rent in advance, deposits and removal costs as housing costs, and the benefit test above still applies. That helps if your landlord has served a Ground 1, 1A or 6 notice to move back in, sell or redevelop, or you want to move somewhere cheaper. Private renters lost the right to Ground 6 removal expenses for notices served from 1 May 2026, so a Housing Payment may be one way to cover the move. If you are moving to a different council area, the council you are leaving is the one that pays.
A notice can also bring separate homelessness duties.
How to apply for a Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment
Apply to the council that handles Housing Benefit where you live, which in two-tier areas is the district council until March 2028. Many councils have an online form. Find your local council on GOV.UK and have these ready:
- Your tenancy agreement and the rent you pay.
- Your latest Housing Benefit letter or Universal Credit statement.
- Your household income and outgoings.
- A rent arrears statement or any notice from your landlord.
- A short explanation of why it is urgent, such as a hearing date.
Ask for backdating if you need it. The council decides, and can only cover a period when your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit was payable. It can also pay your landlord directly.
Ongoing awards usually have an end date. Diary a reminder before it and re-apply if you still need help. Tell the council about any change in your circumstances.
Can you appeal a discretionary housing payment refusal?
There is no appeal to a tribunal. Instead, ask the council in writing for a review. The guidance encourages councils to have someone who was not involved in the first decision look again, and to send you the outcome in writing with reasons. Paragraphs 141 to 144 of the guidance cover reviews, and are worth quoting in your letter.
Say what the council got wrong or missed, and add new evidence such as a hearing date. If you are still unhappy, use the council's complaints process and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Judicial review is also possible, but it has a strict time limit of 3 months at most.
Can you still get a discretionary housing payment in Wales?
Yes. Welsh councils still run discretionary housing payments under the DWP's DHP guidance manual. You must be entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit with housing costs for rent. Apply to your council, and ask for a review if it refuses. Eviction rules in Wales come from the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, so the Ground 8 section above applies to England only.
If your landlord has served a Section 8 notice for arrears, Remedy can check whether the arrears meet the Ground 8 threshold and help you get ready for the hearing while your Housing Payment application is with the council.
Frequently asked questions
In England it does the same job. From 1 April 2026 the Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment replaced discretionary housing payments, and the DWP says it closely replicates the old DHP rules. Awards made before that date stay DHPs, and councils can accept old DHP claim forms during the changeover.
There is no fixed amount. The council looks at your shortfall, income and outgoings. For help with rent, the guidance says it should not exceed your weekly Housing Benefit or the housing element of your Universal Credit. Help with a deposit or rent in advance is decided case by case.
Usually not. The guidance lets the council ask for it back only if you gave wrong information or didn't report a change, or if a mistake was made when your claim was decided. Reporting changes promptly protects you.
Yes. The guidance lists shortfalls caused by the benefit cap, the removal of the spare room subsidy, known as the bedroom tax, and Local Housing Allowance limits as things the funding can cover.
