Some cookies are essential to make our website work. To help us improve, we'd like to set other cookies to show us how our website is being used.

View cookies.

Discretionary Housing Payments Policy

How we administer discretionary housing payments

Introduction 

The Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme is designed to provide additional financial support towards housing costs. A DHP can only be considered if the claimant is in receipt of either Housing Benefit (HB) or Universal Credit (UC) with the Housing Element included for support with a rental liability. 

DHP funding is limited and carries no statutory right to a payment nor does it carry a right of appeal to a Social Security Tribunal. All applications are subject to a fixed process and will be considered on their individual merits. This ensures decisions are fair, reasonable and consistent. 

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provide Westmorland and Furness Council with a limited budget each financial year, and also provide a maximum limit on what each Local Authority (LA) can spend.  Once the budget (including any additional contribution that the Council makes to the fund) has been exhausted, no further awards can be considered in that year. Westmorland and Furness Council are committed to supporting residents. Therefore, further referrals are sometimes made to other LA departments and to our external partners to support our residents needs. 

For the avoidance of doubt, DHP can be used to cover some shortfalls between housing support and actual rent costs, rent deposit, rent in advance and costs associated with taking up a new tenancy such as removal costs. These costs are referred to in this policy as ‘housing costs’.

Purpose 

The purpose of this policy is to set out how Westmorland and Furness Council will administer Discretionary Housing Payments. The funding allows the Local Authority (LA) to provide temporary financial assistance, to allow residents to secure long term changes in their circumstances, meaning their housing costs are more sustainable. In addition, longer term awards are also considered for residents with ongoing needs. 

The DHP funding will be used to mitigate the impact of welfare reform and align with the LA’s vision, priorities and values set out in the Council Plan. DHP awards will be made to support the objectives set out in this policy.

Objectives

The objectives for the administration of the DHP funding are set out to:

  • alleviate poverty, hardship and safeguard security of tenure
  • help with the prevention of eviction, prevent homelessness and reduce the need of temporary accommodation
  • support vulnerable and/or elderly residents in the community, including Care Leavers up to the age of 25, and ex Armed Forces personnel where additional help is likely to increase the chances that they will be able to sustain a stable and secure home
  • help people through family crisis or difficult life events and support in keeping families together
  • encourage and sustain residents in employment within the Westmorland and Furness area
  • safeguarding residents in the home where possible
  • support moves to sustainable tenancies that provides an improved long term solution to residents meeting their housing costs
  • assist those who are in substantially adapted accommodation

Westmorland and Furness Council is focused on positive results for residents and will work collaboratively to maximise income throughout the area.

Eligibility 

For a DHP to be considered, the applicant must:

  • be in receipt of Housing Benefit or receiving the Housing Element of Universal Credit;
  • be liable for the housing cost and;
  • require further financial assistance with the relevant house cost(s)

Consequently, applications can only be considered for periods where all of the above conditions are satisfied.

There are certain costs that make up a resident’s total rent that both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit exclude. Therefore, they cannot be included as a housing cost for the purposes of DHP support. These costs include:

  • ineligible service charges;
  • increases in rent due to outstanding rent arrears
  • certain sanctions and reductions in benefit;
  • benefit suspensions
  • shortfalls caused by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit overpayment recovery

A DHP application including a request for backdating will be considered on its own merits. Backdating will only apply in exceptional circumstances where applicants can demonstrate continuous ‘good cause’ (good reasons) for the whole of the backdate period for why they were unable to claim sooner.  Please note the applicant must be in receipt of Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit for the backdate period.

Application and decision making process

A claim must be made by using either the online claim form (available via the Westmorland and Furness website) or by hand, using a paper form which can be provided upon request. If support is required in the completion of the form, residents can contact the Customer Service Team for further guidance. Reasonable adjustments can be made where required.

Any further supporting evidence should be provided within one month of the Local Authority’s request unless there are good reasons for the delay. If the required proofs are not provided within the designated period, it is likely that applications will be refused. No costs shall be borne by Westmorland and Furness Council in the provision of requested evidence.

The resident who meets the eligibility criteria and who will receive the support (known as the ‘claimant’) must make the application. Alternatively, the claimant’s official appointee can make an application. An official appointee is a person who has been authorised by the claimant to act on their behalf in writing, authorised by the Department for Work and Pensions to act on the claimant’s behalf or who holds power of attorney for the claimant. 

The target for claims to be determined is within 14 days of the receipt of all required evidence.

Westmorland and Furness Council may conduct further checks both internally and externally for the purposes of administering the DHP allocation. Referrals to other agencies or LA departments may also be recommended. 

In making an award, the LA decision maker may take into consideration whether previous applications have been made, claimant willingness to resolve their housing issue(s) and any/planned action a claimant has taken to improve their situation. 

The LA will assess claimants income and expenditure to help determine whether further financial assistance towards their housing costs is appropriate.

Where additional help for ex-members of the Armed Forces is likely to increase the chances of that resident securing and sustaining a stable home, payments of War Pensions, payments made under the Armed Forces Compensation scheme, Service Invaliding Pensions and Service and Service Attributable Pensions will be disregarded on a case by case basis when considering a Discretionary Housing Payment for an ex-member of the armed forces.

The LA will take into consideration all aspects of the application and claimant circumstances to align decisions with the objectives of this scheme. 

By making an application for DHP, the resident grants permission for the LA to access information already available to them to determine the outcome of an application.

Period of award

In normal circumstances, a DHP award will be payable for 26 weeks, though this will depend on the applicants circumstances and budget. This period is subject to change and applications may result in shorter or longer awards which will be assessed on a case by case basis. A DHP award is payable for a maximum on 52 weeks within a single financial year. 

Awards will often be made over a short term period but this can be extended on a case by case basis. The nature of the funding is to provide a bridging support to enable residents to improve their position or move past a difficult period of change.

Awards can be made over the longer term if the claimant resides in property, which is significantly adapted to meet the needs of a household members disability. The relevant household member must both require the adaptation to meet the needs of their disability and be expected to require the adaptation for the duration of the award.

Each award is considered on its own merits and will be made over a period specific to each application. Any change in circumstances, including both financial and personal, may result in awards being adjusted accordingly.

Payments 

A DHP award is normally calculated to be a weekly or monthly amount. The amount awarded cannot exceed the difference between the weekly Housing Benefit and the eligible rent. For applicants who are in receipt of Universal Credit for support with their rent, an award cannot exceed the monthly housing element. 

If an award is made for rent in advance, rent deposits or moving costs, the award is not subject to same restrictions detailed in 21. This is because these are considered “one-off” awards. 

A DHP award can be paid directly to the applicants specified account, a landlord, a managing agent or a company providing the support with the housing cost (such as a removals company carrying out a removal).

Changes of circumstance 

If a resident is in receipt of DHP, they have a duty to report all changes in their circumstances. Further guidance on reporting a change is available via the LA's website.

A change in circumstance is defined in the same way as those requiring notification for Housing Benefit and/or Universal Credit purposes.

DHP awards are subject to change and can be reduced or ended as a result of a change in circumstance.

Overpayments 

The Local Authority (LA) will consider the recovery of a DHP if it is decided that the award has been overpaid as a result of:

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

A DHP cannot and will not be recovered from an ongoing Housing Benefit or Universal Credit award. There are no provisions to recover from other relevant benefits. 

Reconsiderations

If an applicant disagrees with a DHP decision, the recourse available to them is to ask for the decision to be looked at again in writing. The dispute must be lodged within one calendar month of the disputed decision notice.

The reconsideration will be conducted by a decision maker who was not involved in the original decision making process.

A decision on a DHP does not carry a right of appeal to a Social Security Tribunal. The route of a judicial review is available; and a complaint may be made to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if there is an allegation of maladministration or discrimination.   

Funding 

The LA can supplement the DHP budget from the Central Government contribution by a maximum of two and a half times this figure. Once the overall cash limit is met, no additional DHPs can be considered within the relevant tax year. Any awards in excess of this limit are unlawful.

The DHP budget is closely monitored throughout the year. If there is a significant change to factors affecting the fund (such as increased demand), then the LA may consider adding to the central government contribution. The LA will adhere to the governance framework and remain within the regulation affecting this process.

Legal considerations

This policy is based upon and/or may make reference to the following provisions (as amended):

  • the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001
  • the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006
  • the Universal Credit Regulations 2013

This policy is also supported and guided by the ‘Discretionary Housing Payment guidance manual’ and its contents including relevant case law.