If your circumstances are particularly difficult and you are receiving Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support you can apply for a discretionary payment.
You must make sure that you are seeking additional help to assist with your situation i.e. debt or budgeting advice from the local Citizens' Advice Bureau.
We only have a limited amount of money for discretionary payments and we will look carefully at each application and how much we pay depends on your individual circumstances.
Discretionary payments cannot cover certain things such as
- Charges for water rates
- Parts of your rent not covered by benefit, for example, charges for fuel, hot water, or meals
- Increases in rent due to rent arrears
- Where another benefit you are receiving has been suspended
- Where another benefit you are receiving has been reduced because of an overpayment, or a sanction, has been applied