A Discretionary Housing Payment can provide extra financial help towards your rent if you are experiencing temporary difficulties or periods of hardship.
Criteria
You must:
- be receiving Housing Benefit or have been paid the Housing Cost Element of Universal Credit based on your income and circumstances,
- explain what other options you have considered to try and meet the shortfall.
Conditionality
These are the actions it is reasonable to expect you to take to avoid needing a Discretionary Housing Payment long term. These will be explained in your notification letter.
Repeat applications may be considered when more time is needed if reasonable explanations are provided.
Making our decision
We look at:
- your household’s income, savings, expenses, and any debts
- the help you receive for rent compared to what you are required to pay
- any illness or disability withing your household that makes moving to a more affordable home difficult
- if you have been affected by the benefit cap
- if your property is too big for your household but there are reasons why you need the extra bedrooms
- situations beyond your control affecting your circumstances
Discretionary Housing Payments update for 2025/2026
We are no longer accepting new Discretionary Housing Payment applications for the 2025/2026 financial year. The allocated budget has now been fully used due to the high volume of applications received.
Please check this page regularly for updates on when applications for the 2026/2027 financial year will open. Further information will be published as soon as it becomes available.
If you need support for food and fuel in the meantime, you may wish to explore other forms of assistance available through the council Bury food and fuel support - Bury Council