The Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) scheme was introduced by the Government in July 2001 so that local authorities could provide financial assistance to claimants receiving Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit, when additional help with housing costs was required.
The purpose of this policy is to specify how Torbay Council will run the DHP scheme.
Contents
- Background
- Purpose of Policy
- Aims of the Policy
- Equalities
- Administration of DHP Claims
- Claiming DHP
- Awarding DHP
- Eligible for DHP
- Ineligible for DHP
- Rent Deposits
- Rent in Advance
- Period of Award
- Backdating
- Method of Payment
- Changes of Circumstances
- Notification of DHP
- Referrals from Other Sectors
- Appeals
- Overpayments
- Fraud
- Data Sharing
- Working in Partnership
- Publicity
- Administration
- Policy Review
1. Background
The Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) scheme was introduced by the Government in July 2001 so that local authorities could provide financial assistance to claimants receiving Housing Benefit when additional help with housing costs was required. Any reference to “Housing benefit” should now be interpreted as: “Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit”.
The Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001 provide the legal framework for DHPs. Although the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) provides guidance to local authorities on how DHPs can be used, there is a large degree of discretion over the scheme and there are few regulatory restrictions.
When the scheme was introduced DHP’s were awarded to top up shortfalls in Housing or Council Tax Benefit entitlement, where payments under the statutory scheme were insufficient. This was extended in October 2012 to include other costs, such as rent deposits and/or rent in advance.
Following the abolition of Council Tax Benefit from April 2013, the Government changed the scheme so that DHP’s can no longer be made towards the council tax liability. A new scheme was introduced by Torbay Council from April 2013 to support vulnerable people experiencing financial hardship and unable to pay their council tax. For full details of this scheme please refer to the Council Tax Discretionary Reductions Policy.
The main features of the DHP scheme are:
- It is not part of the Housing Benefit scheme.
- It cannot be used to offset overpayment recovery or to cover ineligible service charges.
- Anyone receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit payments in respect of their rent can make a claim.
- There is no statutory right to payment.
- Payments are made from a cash-limited fund.
Any funding not awarded within the financial year cannot be carried over to subsequent years and must be repaid to the DWP. Funding levels can vary each year as it’s partly based on previous year’s expenditure – if a council under-spends it would receive reduced funding in the subsequent financial year.
2. Purpose of the Policy
The purpose of this policy is to specify how Torbay Council will run the DHP scheme.
This policy ensures that the Council will act fairly, reasonably and consistently throughout the DHP decision making process.
All claimants will be treated equally and fairly and in accordance with the Council’s policies.
3. Aims of the Policy
This policy incorporates revised DWP guidance on the administration of
DHPs and is intended to contribute towards the following outcomes:
- Alleviate poverty
- Sustaining tenancies and preventing homelessness
- Support those in work to allow them to be able to remain in employment
- Safeguard residents in their own homes where there is a need to remain in a particular property or area
- Supporting victims of domestic violence to move to a place of safety
- Help claimants through personal crises and difficult events
- Support the vulnerable in the local community
- Support young people in the transition to adult life
- Support young people leaving Local Authority care
- Support foster carers and fostered children
- Support people with disabilities who have or need adaptations to their property or require a larger property than the Housing Benefit Regulations allow
- Help families stay together
The overarching objective of this policy is to distribute funding granted under the DHP scheme by the Department for Work and Pensions & by Torbay Council in order to prevent homelessness. This will be achieved by providing short term relief to claimants in order to give them time to find more sustainable solutions to their financial arrangements. The policy is also intended to support people who have little scope to change their personal circumstances.
The DHP scheme allows for payments to be made for rent deposits and rent in advance if the claimant receives Housing Benefit/ Universal Credit Housing Element for their present home.
4. Equalities
The Council is committed to equality and fairness. Equality is about ensuring people are treated fairly and given fair chances. It is also about ensuring that people receive fair outcomes in the standard of service they receive from the Council and equality of access to council services. This incorporates everyone, regardless of their race, gender, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status and/or disability in line with the principles set out in the Equalities Act 2010.
5. Administration of DHP Claims
The Dispute Resolution and Discretionary payments Team administers the DHP scheme in accordance with the legislative requirements and will:
- Provide a claim form and guidance
- Set a performance target
- Provide operational procedures
- Notify the claimant of the outcome of their claim in writing, stating the reasons for the decision and providing details of their appeal rights
- Remind the claimant claiming DHP of their duty to notify the Council of any changes in their circumstances
- Review the policy, procedures and administration of the scheme annually
6. Claiming DHP
A request for DHP maybe made verbally, by email or in writing and the Council will issue a claim form. The claimant is required to return the form within one month of its issue.
Applications are accepted from third parties acting with the claimant’s consent.
Evidence will be requested in support of the claim and the claimant will have one month to provide this, although this will be extended in appropriate circumstances.
A DHP claim will only be considered once a decision has been made on the claimant’s most recent Housing Benefit claim or Universal Credit application.
7. Awarding DHP
When considering a DHP the Council may take into account the following:
- The difference between the applicable amount and received income
- The shortfall between Housing Benefit/Universal Credit Housing Element element and the rent liability
- Whether there is a risk of being statutorily homeless if a payment is not made
- Whether the accommodation is affordable
- Whether any steps have been taken to negotiate a rent reduction with the landlord
- If financial hardship is affecting individuals in the family, such as young children
- The financial and medical circumstances (including ill health and disabilities) of the claimant, their partner and any dependants and any other occupants of the claimant’s home
- Any savings or capital held by the claimant or their family (it would normally be expected that available capital is used to contribute towards rent in advance and deposits and rent shortfalls)
- Income that has been disregarded in the calculation of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support/Universal Credit
- The income and expenses of the claimant, their partner and any dependants or other occupants of the claimant’s home. Where it is felt that expenditure is inappropriate, the claimant may be referred for monetary/debt advice: the Council works in partnership with Salvation Army Torbay Debt Advice Service
- Debt and loans
- Shortfalls due to non-dependant deductions
- Claimants who have limited scope to change their circumstances (eg. a disabled claimant affected by the under-occupancy rules who has had adaptations made to the accommodation)
- The need of a household to remain in a particular property or area for educational, medical, support, care or disability reasons
- For rent in advance/deposit applications the reason for move including why the previous/current tenancy was lost.
This list is not exhaustive and any other relevant factors or special circumstances will be considered.
We cannot award DHP if the claimant is not entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing element of Universal Credit.
8. Eligible for DHP
The various types of shortfalls that a DHP can cover include:
- Reductions in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit where the benefit cap has been applied
- Reductions in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit for under-occupation in the social rented sector
- Reductions in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit as a result of LHA restrictions
- Rent officer restrictions such as local reference rent or shared room rate
- Rent deposits and rent in advance (where the claimant is at risk of homelessness)
- Expenditure higher than income due to multiple debts and a substantial shortfall in the rent (refer to other agencies eg. Citizens Advice Bureau for debt advice)
- Unaffordable rent (refer to homelessness team for further advice and assistance)
- Where an extra bedroom is needed due to medical reasons and it is unreasonable to expect the claimant to move home
- Property is larger than current needs due to pregnancy. This will be considered where Housing Benefit/Universal Credit is restricted by size criteria and only within twelve weeks of the baby’s due date
- Medical condition making it difficult to move
- Increases in essential work related expenditure such as increased fares to work if a claimant has had to move because they could not afford to live in proximity to their work following a reduction in their LHA rates
- Short term emergency, crisis in family etc
- Assistance to secure a new tenancy where the decision maker considers there is an urgent/essential need to move such as at risk of homelessness.
- Assist the claimant to retain an existing tenancy
This list is not exhaustive and any other relevant factors or special circumstances will be considered.
9. Ineligible for DHP
DHPs cannot be paid for the following:
- A shortfall caused by services or meals included in rent such as water rates, electricity or meals. If included in the rent, confirmation from the landlord as to the amount paid towards them will be needed
- A shortfall due to an excessive rent increase
- A shortfall in income caused by a Department for Work and Pensions sanction or suspension
- Assistance with rent in advance and deposits if the rent is not deemed affordable
- Rent in advance and/or deposits where the applicant has lost their tenancy due to their own willful action or inaction e.g. causing damage to the property, non-payment of Housing Benefit to a landlord, except where the tenant is engaging with support services such as YOT, Children’s Services, Mental Health Practitioners/Services
- A reduction in Housing Benefit as a result of a Loss of Benefit (LOB) penalty. Regulation 3(l) of the Discretionary Financial Assistance Regulations 2001 has been amended so that such a payment cannot be made to a claimant who is subject to a loss of benefit for a fraud offence
- An increase in rent charges due to outstanding rent arrears
- A shortfall in income caused by overpayment recovery
- When Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support or Universal Credit has been suspended
- Where an applicant has multiple outstanding debts, and professional debt advice has not been sought, nor a plan put in place to deal with the debt
- Except where there has been a significant change in the claimant’s circumstances, ongoing assistance with a rent shortfall where an award has already been made to assist the tenant to move into the property as awards to secure a tenancy are made on the basis that the rent is affordable
- Rent arrears for tenants of Social Housing unless there is evidence that there is an imminent risk of eviction and there is a clear plan between landlord and tenant to prevent further arrears accruing
10. Rent Deposits
Assistance with rent in advance will be considered for claimants who are already resident in the Torbay area.
To qualify for assistance with a rent deposit the following conditions will apply:
- The applicant would otherwise become homeless due to the loss of their existing accommodation
- No similar financial assistance has previously been provided to the applicant by the Council except where the applicant is both unable to access their previous deposit and needs to move through no fault of their own
- The rent must be deemed to be affordable
- If a tenant has lost their accommodation due to their own wilful action or inaction an award will not be made unless they are engaging with Support Services such as YOT, Children’s Services, and Mental Health Practitioners/Services.
Where the above qualifying criteria are met and an award is agreed, payment is subject to the following:
- Payment will only be made directly to the new landlord; AND
- The landlord complies with the legal obligation to protect a deposit paid in a Government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme
Deposit awards will cover a maximum of one month’s rent unless there are exceptional circumstances justifying a larger award.
11. Rent in Advance
Assistance with rent in advance will be considered for claimants who are already resident in the Torbay area.
To qualify for assistance with rent in advance the following conditions will apply:
- The applicant would otherwise become homeless due to the loss of their existing accommodation
- No similar financial assistance has previously been provided to the applicant by the Council except where the applicant is both unable to access their previous deposit and needs to move through no fault of their own
- The rent must be deemed to be affordable
- If a tenant has lost their accommodation due to their own willful action or inaction an award will not be made unless they are engaging with Support Services such as YOT, Children’s Services, and Mental Health Practitioners/Services.
Where the above qualifying criteria are met and an award is agreed, payment is subject to the following:
- Payment will only be made directly to the new landlord AND
- The landlord complies with the legal obligation to protect a deposit paid in a Government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme
Rent in advance awards will cover a maximum of one month’s rent unless there are exceptional circumstances justifying a larger award.
12. Period of Award-help with ongoing rent shortfalls and/or rent arrears
Award periods will normally commence from the Monday following the date that an application is received. Where the applicant has asked to be sent an application and returns the completed application within one month, the request date will be treated as the application date and any award started from the Monday after the request for the application was made.
To assist effective budget management, to give a measure of stability to applicants and to ensure that the claimant’s current circumstances are known ongoing awards will normally be made for 26 weeks although this has to be kept under constant review.
When making decisions about rent arrears we will have in mind how much support is needed to safeguard the tenancy.
An award of a DHP does not guarantee a further award at a later date even if the claimant’s circumstances have not changed. If at the time of the initial award it is considered that the accommodation is inappropriate the claimant will be advised to look for alternative ways of alleviating the hardship.
Long term solutions might include finding more affordable accommodation, finding or increasing employment, negotiating a reduced rent, renting a room if appropriate or reducing indebtedness/ negotiating reduced payments to creditors.
13. Backdating
A DHP payment can be backdated if the Council considers that the applicant has a good reason for the delay in making the DHP claim based upon the circumstances of the case. However, this will be limited to the period in which the claimant has been receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit during the current financial year, unless exceptional reasons for a late claim are accepted.
14. Method of Payment
This will be dependent on the type of DHP awarded, for rent deposits and rent in advance the payment will be paid to the landlord or agent of the new accommodation.
Should the award be in respect of goods or services, payment will normally be made direct to the supplier.
For ongoing payments DHP’s will be paid to the Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Costs payee. The frequency of the payment will be as considered appropriate for the individual case. Awards in respect of rent arrears will normally be paid direct to the landlord.
15. Changes of Circumstances
An award of DHP may be revised or withdrawn where the claimant’s circumstances have changed.
The claimant is required to notify the Council of any changes of circumstances that will affect their Housing Benefit or DHP claim.
16. Notification of DHP
Claimants will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as practicable. Claims for rent in advance and rent arrears will be given priority due to the effectiveness of these awards in preventing imminent homelessness..
The notification will set out the reasons for the decision and will advise:
- The amount of DHP awarded
- The period of any ongoing award
- The requirement to report a change of circumstances
- The right to request a review of the decision
- Information on who to contact for further help or advice
17. Referrals from Other Sectors
The Council will accept referrals from:
- Torbay Council’s Social Services Team
- Registered Social Landlords
- Torbay Council’s Housing Needs department
- Third sector organisations i.e. Citizens Advice Bureau, welfare rights advisors
The approved application form should be completed and returned to the Council unless it is deemed appropriate to suspend this requirement.
18. Appeals
DHPs are not payments of Housing Benefit and are therefore not subject to the statutory appeals process. There is no right to have an appeal heard at a Tribunal Hearing.
Where someone has a complaint about the way in which their application has been handled as opposed to disagreeing with the decision, they can make a complaint through the Council’s complaints’ procedure.
The Council has a review process in place to ensure that all DHP decisions are fair and consistent.
The claimant or their appointee may dispute the decision. A request for a review should be made in writing or electronically to the Council within one calendar month of the written decision being issued to the claimant. This period maybe extended should special circumstances apply.
The Review request will be dealt with by an officer who was not involved in making the original decision. The officer will look again at the original decision and all the information and evidence used to make that decision. They will also take into account any new information the claimant has provided and they may ask them for more information if they consider it necessary. The officer will write to the claimant advising them of their decision within 10 working days of the date the review request was received or as soon as practicable.
Review decisions are final and may not be further challenged except where legislation permits. The Council will write to the applicant once a decision has been considered and will explain:
- The amount of the award (if any);
- The period of the award (if any);
- Provide details of how the award (if any) will be made;
- Provide a summary of the factors considered in reaching the decision.
If request to review a decision not to award DHP is not successful, this does not prevent a further application being made in the future if the circumstances of the person who claimed change.
19. Overpayments
Overpayments of DHP will be recovered from the appropriate person. The overpayment will be recovered from either ongoing DHP or by issuing an invoice.
A letter will be sent to the person due to repay the invoice detailing the overpayment, why it occurred and what to do if they disagree.
20. Fraud
The Council is committed to protect public funds and ensure funds are paid to the people who are rightfully eligible to them. A claimant found to be claiming DHPs fraudulently by providing a false statements or evidence in support of their claim may have committed an offence under the Fraud Act and liable for prosecution.
Where the Council suspects such a fraud may have occurred the matter will be investigated as appropriate and this may lead to criminal proceedings being instigated.
21. Data Sharing
The Council may use any evidence and information supplied to it in respect of DHPs to check the eligibility of the applicant in respect of this scheme or any other welfare benefit, discounts or exemptions.
The Council takes part in data matching exercises to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. Data matching involves comparing sets of our data, such as council tax or benefit records against other records held by the Council or other bodies to see how far they match. Data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims, reductions and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it indicates that there is an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.
22. Working in Partnership
The Revenues and Benefits department will work closely with the Housing department to assist with meeting the aims and objectives of the Council’s Homelessness Strategy and may also work with other organisations such as registered social landlords to promote Discretionary Housing Payments.
23. Publicity
The DHP scheme will be publicised in the Torbay area.
The following methods of communication may be used:
- Leaflets and posters
- Information with the Housing Benefit award letter
- Face to face and verbal when visiting or telephoning the council offices
- Information on the Council’s website
- Information for third sector organisations and referrers
- Claim forms available to download or complete online
- Information with council tax reminders notices where the taxpayer is in receipt of Council Tax Support
24. Administration
Applications will be subject to the Council’s quality control procedures and audit.
Home visits will be made available to applicants or households who are unable to attend the Council’s offices and have no-one else to assist them.
Awards will be recorded and reported on monthly basis to senior management.
Reports will record the following, for both successful and unsuccessful claims per financial year:
- Name of applicant or household
- Address of applicant or household
- Ward of applicant or household (if relevant)
- The start/end date of the award
- The amount of the award
- The reason for the award/refusal/eligibility criteria
- Equality data to monitor the effectiveness of the scheme
The authority may from time to time conduct a survey of all applicants to seek opinions, satisfaction levels and to shape the scheme for future years.
25. Policy Review
The policy will remain a working document and changes will be made as appropriate to ensure the service continues to meet the stated outcomes, objectives, needs of the local community and the council. The policy will, in any event, be reviewed at least once a year.
Any major changes will be subject to consultation in accordance with best practice.