Discretionary Housing Payment

A Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) may be claimed if you receive Housing Benefit but are having difficulty paying the rest of your rent.

You can also claim a DHP if you are receiving Universal Credit that includes the housing element.

A DHP can therefore pay for some, or the entire shortfall between Housing Benefit and your rent.

The amount of money that is available to the local authority to spend in these cases is cash limited. This means that financial constraints are a factor in a local authority’s decision on any individual case.

The payments are discretionary and there are no formal appeal rights against any decision made by the local authority not to make a payment. DHP’s are considered to be short term help and are not usually awarded for more than a 6 month period.

Discretionary Housing Payment - Application Form (PDF File, 112kb)