DHP

Sorry - can’t understand that either. You must be getting some Housing Benefit to get a DHP, but no requirement for full HB - do you have a link to the Shelter Guidance?

Different Local Authorities apply DHPs slightly differently, but the updated guidance that should be followed is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/184207/discretionary-housing-payments-guide.pdf

Exclusions are listed in Appendix A

Phil,

It states cannot get if:

making up for a shortfall that is due to
your income being too high to get the
maximum housing benefit

From, see attached link I also note that it was updated this month?

Thanks you your opinion, and link, as I think it is wrong.

That is indeed wrong.  That is one of the two purposes for which the original “core” DHP scheme was designed.  DHPs were supposed to be for:

- cases where the claim was subject to one of the private sector rent restriction mechanisms
- cases where the ordinary means-test produced a harsh outcome because of some personal factor

Since April 2011 DWP has been increasing DHP funding in the expectation that authorities will use most of it to alleviate various welfare reforms, like benefit cap and bedroom tax.  But the “core” DHP funding remains notionally there for perennial hardship cases.

Indeed you cannot get a DHP if your eligible rent is not restricted in any way and you don’t have a means-tested contribution to make - either now or in the past (some authorities may be quite accommodating when it comes to scraping to together a one-off lump sum DHP from periods in the past when there was a shortfall, even if there isn’t one now)

Shelter has been alerted and informs us that it recognises that the bullet is misleading as currently worded, and that the factsheet will be amended.

Tony,

Thanks I spoke to Shelter, and they said the same.

I didn’t want to call them until I had run it by other people. It seems that it should say if you don’t get any HB due to excess income, which makes perfect sense.

Cheers and thanks for people’s thoughts.

Shelter’s factsheet has now been amended
http://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/710545/Discretionary_housing_payments_sept_13.pdf