Discretionary Housing Payment

Apply for extra help with housing costs if you are struggling to pay your rent.

What is a Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment?

From 1 April 2026, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are ending nationally. They are being replaced by Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payments.

This scheme forms part of the national Crisis and Resilience Fund, which runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.

CRF Housing Payments continue to provide discretionary financial help for residents facing a shortfall in their rent. They operate under national guidance as part of a wider anti-poverty framework. 

What support can Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payments provide?

CRF Housing Payments can help with:

  • a shortfall between your benefit entitlement and your rent
  • rent deposits
  • rent in advance
  • other lump-sum housing-related costs, such as removal expenses
  • certain moving costs when delays are outside your control

CRF Housing Payments cannot be used for:

  • Council Tax
  • furniture or household items
  • water, sewerage, electricity or gas charges
  • increases in rent caused by outstanding arrears
  • costs arising from benefit sanctions, overpayments or suspensions
  • rent if you do not receive Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element

Who can apply for a Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment?

You may be eligible if:

  • you live in Colchester
  • you are liable to pay rent
  • you receive Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element, including shared ownership rent
  • you can provide evidence of financial hardship or exceptional circumstances that mean you cannot meet your housing costs

All awards are discretionary and are not guaranteed.

There is no legal right of appeal, but you can request a review of a decision. 

How we assess applications and make decisions

We consider the financial and personal circumstances of you and anyone else in your household.

When considering an application, we will identify the cause of the hardship, look at possible solutions, and decide whether your housing costs can be met from your household income or capital, including savings.

We assess:

  • your income and essential expenditure
  • your rent liability
  • your savings and financial commitments
  • the steps you have taken to manage or improve your financial situation
  • any risk of homelessness, vulnerability or safeguarding concerns
  • any health, disability or urgent personal circumstances

We intend to prioritise support, where needed, for:

  • homelessness prevention
  • severely disabled residents living in adapted accommodation
  • disabled children
  • approved or prospective adoptive or foster parents
  • residents affected by wider welfare reforms

Apply for a Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment

To assess your application, we will ask for:

  • evidence of your income and expenditure, including Universal Credit awards if applicable
  • bank statements
  • tenancy or rent details
  • information about your circumstances and support needs

Apply for a Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payment

What happens next?

Each application is assessed on its own merits. The following principles apply:

  • if your application is successful, the award period will depend on your circumstances
  • awards will usually start from the Monday after the date of application, but backdating requests may be considered
  • changes in your circumstances or the law may affect the amount or length of the award
  • in some cases, CRF Housing Payments may be awarded for a longer period

How is it paid?

A CRF Housing Payment can be paid in different ways depending on your circumstances and the reason for the award.

If you receive Housing Benefit, any award will be paid alongside your usual payments from the Council.

In most other cases, any award will be paid to your nominated account or directly to your rent account if you are a Colchester Borough Homes tenant.

We may pay a CRF Housing Payment to someone other than the applicant if we consider it reasonable to do so.

Changes in your circumstances

You must tell Colchester City Council about any change in your circumstances that could affect your CRF Housing Payment award.

This may include changes to:

  • your household income or savings
  • the people in your household
  • your rent liability

Challenging our decision

We will write to you with our decision and the reasons for it. This may be by email, where appropriate.

If we make an award, we will also tell you the start and end dates and how it will be paid.

There is no legal right of appeal against a CRF Housing Payment decision. However, you can ask us to review the decision.

You must request a review in writing within 1 month of the date of the original decision.

A different decision-maker will review the original decision and either uphold it or change it at their discretion.

We will then send you another decision letter.

We keep a record of review requests for monitoring purposes.

How we use and store your data

To provide this service, we may need to collect relevant personal information from you.

We take our responsibilities under data protection law seriously and make sure any personal information we collect and use is handled proportionately, correctly and safely. We keep records in line with our retention schedule.