Housing Payments
Housing Payments (previously known as Discretionary Housing Payments, or DHPs) are payments to help with your housing costs. You can only get a Housing Payment if you also get:
- Housing Benefit from Central Bedfordshire Council
- the housing costs element of Universal Credit, and you live in Central Bedfordshire
Housing Payments are not benefits and if you are awarded a Housing Payment it will be paid in addition to your benefits.
You have to apply for Housing Payments separately from your benefits application, and we decide on applications individually with reference to our Housing Payment policy . We only have a limited budget for payments so we cannot pay everyone who applies.
Apply for a Housing Payment
Apply for a Housing Payment online
If you’re unable to apply online, please email benefits@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 8000 to get a form through the post.
Applicants who will be given priority for Housing Payments
You will be given priority for a Housing Payment if you or a member of your household is disabled, you have more bedrooms than the Housing Benefit / Universal Credit rules allow, and either:
- your home has been adapted for your disablement needs
- you cannot share a bedroom with your partner because of your disability
- an issue related to your disability makes it difficult for you to move to a smaller or cheaper property
You will also be given priority if:
- you are a foster carer (or your partner is), you have more bedrooms than the Housing Benefit / Universal Credit rules allow, and you need a bedroom for each foster child
- you are fleeing domestic violence
We will also consider whether you and your household fall into any of the examples of who we want to help . When you are completing your application, please refer to these examples and our Housing Payment policy, and make sure you give as much information as possible to help us make our decision.
Eligible housing costs
We can only award Housing Payments to help with your housing costs. Some of the housing costs that can be covered by Housing Payments are:
- rent shortfalls not covered by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, for example due to the Benefit Cap, Local Housing Allowance rates, or spare room restrictions in the social rented sector (the “Bedroom Tax”)
- rent deposits, moving costs, or rent in advance to help you move home, for example to cheaper or more suitable accommodation
We cannot use Housing Payments to provide help with Council Tax. This is available through the local Council Tax Support scheme and discretionary reduction for hardship .
We also cannot pay you a Housing Payment for:
- service charges which are not eligible for Housing Benefit
- when your Housing Benefit is suspended
- when your Housing Benefit is reduced because of overpayments or sanctions
Decisions, payments and appeals
Housing Payment decisions are made on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our Housing Payment policy . We will write to you when we have made our decision on your application.
If your application is successful, we will decide the most appropriate person to pay, based on the circumstances of your application. If we award regular Housing Payments to help with your rent, your payments will be made in line with how your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit is paid.
If you are not happy with our decision, you can contact us to disagree with it in writing or electronically. Housing Payments are not payments of benefit and are therefore not subject to the statutory appeals process.
Contact us
Telephone: 0300 300 8000
Email: benefits@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Please quote your benefit claim reference in all correspondence if you have one – your claim reference is either an 8 digit number starting with 900 or a 5 digit number. You can find it in any letter we’ve sent about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support.