If your shelter allowance does not cover your entire rent and you cannot afford to pay the difference, you may be entitled to a discretionary housing payment. We assess your situation to decide if you are in financial difficulty and if you have exceptional circumstances. We compare this total income with reasonable weekly expenses and calculate whether you still have enough money to pay for the loss of rent. The shelter allowance is a national program administered by local councils that helps low-income people pay rent for their homes. All low-income tenants, including those who work, are eligible for the shelter allowance. To confirm that you cannot afford to pay the lost rent, we need to assess all the income and capital you and your partner have. This includes some income that applies to special circumstances such as disability allowance or personal independence paymentExternal link will open in a new window. We handle all complaints as soon as possible. If there is a risk of legal action due to rent arrears, we will prioritize these cases and do everything in our power to avoid unnecessary evictions. We will do everything in our power to ensure that tenants are fully entitled to benefits.
The application form is also available from your local centre, where you can make an appointment if you need help filling out your form. We may share more information about a tenant`s claim with a landlord if the tenant has signed an information sharing form (PDF 137 KB)The link will be opened in a new window Discretionary Housing Payments (DHH) are for people who receive a housing allowance or Universal Credit, which includes a residential element for their rent, but who need additional help with rental or housing costs. We have a limited amount of money to make these payments and we can only make payments to those who need them most. You can upload your completed application form and supporting documents or send an email to benefits@cardiff.gov.uk This form is also included in the benefit application form. Personal information about the tenant will still not be disclosed. Tenants may appeal any decision made by council with respect to their claim. If we confirm that you are in financial difficulty, we will check if you have any extraordinary circumstances. We review your personal data and that of your family and will take into account any information you provide to us. In light of government and public health advice on the coronavirus (COVID-19), we have made some changes to our services. Please refer to the information on the services offered in our hubs.
Landlords should contact us immediately if a tenant has not paid their rent. You must provide the latest 2-month bank statements for any bank account, construction company or postal company you have. If you receive Universal Credit, you will also need to provide your latest statement, which includes a full breakdown of your Universal Credit calculation and proof of your rent. The housing allowance can pay part or all of a tenant`s rent. The amount paid depends on the tenant`s household, income and other circumstances. Once we have received a completed form and the above proofs, a member of our financial advisory team will contact you to assess your financial needs and complete the application process. We will withhold further payments, even if only one rent payment has been missed, while we investigate the situation. Usually, we need proof, by . B a rent statement, to consider further payments to the landlord. Housing allowance information and landlord advice Normally, we cannot give a landlord information about a tenant`s claim unless the housing allowance is paid directly to a landlord or the tenant has signed a form to share information. We are committed to working with private landlords to avoid unnecessary evictions and encourage landlords to rent their properties to people with benefits. Discretionary housing payments to support rent are usually only paid for a short period of time, for example, 6 months.
If you still need help after your payments expire, you will need to reapply. Proof can also be provided to your local hub or by post to: Freepost Cardiff Council Housing Benefit. If the housing allowance is paid directly to the landlord, we will provide an update on the progress of a claim or details of payments made. You may need to provide evidence to support your new application for housing allowance, tax reduction, discretionary housing payment or before we can change the circumstances. We advise you on what you need to provide, if any. We must fully assess your situation before we can grant a discretionary transfer. If you know that your tenant`s situation has changed, or if you suspect that your tenant is committing enforcement fraud, you must notify us immediately. Request discretionary payment (788kb PDF)Link will open in new window Owners can appeal decisions about who is paid for the service and who is being claimed for an overpayment. .