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They are not payments of benefit and are paid on top of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. These payments are an independent scheme and there is a limited budget for DHPs so even if we decide that you qualify, if there are no funds left we cannot give you the payment.

To find out more, download and read our pamphlet Discretionary Housing Benefit.

Discretionary housing payments are available to people who:

• are entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit (or both); and
• appear to the council to need some more help with their housing costs (rent and Council Tax).

We cannot give DHPs towards:

• service or support charges that are not eligible;
• any rent charge when you are only receiving Council Tax Benefit;
• any Council Tax charge when you are only receiving Housing Benefit or Second Adult Rebate;
• rent arrears, which are not refundable;
• reductions in any benefit due to Child Support deductions, for example; or
• amounts of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit that has been suspended.

We will look at what 'disposable income' you have. We work this out by looking at what money you have coming in and what your day-to-day expenses are. If it turns out that you still have income above what you need to live on, you may not qualify for a DHP. Fill in a DHP form to make sure. The decision will be based on your current circumstances and the funding that is available. It is not, however, a long-term solution to meeting the shortfall in your rent or Council Tax as future payments are not guaranteed.

If you want to claim a DHP, contact us to ask for an application form. Alternatively you can download the pamphlet Discretionary Housing Benefit, which contains the application form. You must print it out, complete and post to us both the Discretionary Housing Payment form and the financial breakdown sheet.