Crisis and Resilience Fund Housing Payments

• Introduction
• Purpose
• Eligibility
• Awards
• Exclusions
• Assessing applications
• Decision making
• Notification
• Reviews
• Changes in circumstances
• Equality
• Fraud
• Policy review

This policy explains how the Council administers Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payments to help eligible residents meet housing costs and prevent homelessness.

Introduction

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) Housing Payment provides short-term, discretionary financial assistance to households who are entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing costs element of Universal Credit and require additional help with housing costs.

This policy establishes the framework for the administration of CRF Housing Payments.

Purpose

The objectives of CRF Housing Payments are to:

• Prevent homelessness.
• Support vulnerable residents experiencing financial hardship.
• Sustain tenancies.
• Assist households affected by welfare reforms, reductions in benefit entitlement or exceptional circumstances.
• Help to secure and maintain suitable accommodation.
• Provide short-term financial help where statutory housing support is insufficient to meet housing costs.

The scheme is not designed to provide ongoing financial support and is intended only as a short-term intervention.

CRF Housing Payments are discretionary and subject to available funding. All applications will be considered on their own merits and there is no automatic entitlement to an award.

Eligibility

Applicants must receive Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit and demonstrate they are unable to meet their reasonable housing costs and need additional financial assistance.

All applicants must complete the Council's application form and provide evidence of their financial circumstances if requested by council officers.

Applications will normally be considered where there is evidence of:

• An unforeseen financial crisis.
• A sudden reduction in household income.
• Exceptional and unforeseen expenditure creating hardship.
• Risk of eviction or homelessness.
• Domestic abuse requiring urgent rehousing.
• Significant safeguarding concerns.
• Other exceptional circumstances determined by the Council.

The Council may use CRF Housing Payment funding to:

• Prevent homelessness.
• Enable a household to remain in affordable accommodation.
• Support a move to more suitable housing.
• Assist households through a period of temporary financial difficulty.
• Protect vulnerable households from significant hardship.
• Support residents affected by domestic abuse or safeguarding concerns.
• Help residents move towards a sustainable housing solution.

Awards will be short-term and targeted towards achieving a defined housing outcome.

The Council will refuse an application where reasonable requests for information or evidence are not provided.

Awards

Awards may include:

• Rent shortfalls.
• Rent deposits.
• Rent in advance.
• Removal costs.
• Essential costs associated with securing or retaining accommodation.
• Other housing-related costs approved by the Council.

Exclusions

Payments will not be made to clear housing costs arising from:

• Ineligible service charges.
• Water or sewerage charges.
• Benefit sanctions or suspensions.
• Recovery of benefit overpayments.
• Other costs that fall outside the scope of the scheme.

Payments will not normally be made where the Council considers the housing costs to be unreasonable or unsustainable in the longer term unless this would result in exceptional hardship or homelessness.

Assessing applications

All applications will be considered on their own merits.

When considering an award, the Council will have regard to whether the applicant's accommodation is affordable and sustainable in the medium to longer term.

Factors considered may include:

• Household income, expenditure, savings and debts.
• Risk of homelessness.
• Disability, health conditions or caring responsibilities.
• Domestic abuse, safeguarding concerns or other exceptional circumstances.
• The impact of welfare reforms.
• Whether alternative accommodation is available and reasonable.
• Efforts made by the applicant to improve their financial situation.

Special consideration may be given where:

• A disabled person occupies significantly adapted accommodation.
• Additional bedroom requirements arise from disability or medical needs.
• The applicant is fleeing violence or abuse.
• Temporary financial hardship places a tenancy at risk.

Decision making

Applications will be assessed by authorised officers in accordance with this policy and available funding.

The Council may limit awards to ensure the available budget is distributed fairly throughout the financial year.

The amount and duration of any award will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. Awards are normally made for a fixed period and may be reviewed if circumstances change.

Notification

The Council aims to notify applicants of its decision within 14 days of receiving all required information.

Successful applicants will be informed of:

• The amount awarded.
• The award period.
• Payment arrangements. This may be to the claimant, landlord or another appropriate third party as determined by the Council.

Where an application is refused, reasons will be provided.

Reviews

There is no statutory right of appeal against a CRF Housing Payment decision.

Applicants may request a review in writing within one month of the decision.

Reviews will be undertaken by a different officer where possible, and the outcome will be provided in writing. The review decision is final, and there will be no further right of review.

Changes in circumstances

Applicants must notify the Council of any change in circumstances that may affect their award.

The Council reserves the right to recover any award made as a result of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information.

Failure to notify the Council of any relevant change may result in recovery of any overpayment.

Equality

The Council will administer the scheme in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty contained within the Equality Act 2010.

Particular regard will be given to the needs of disabled people, victims of domestic abuse and other vulnerable groups when considering applications.

Fraud

The Council is committed to protecting public funds.

Applications containing false or misleading information may be investigated and could lead to recovery of funds and, where appropriate, legal action.

Policy review

Administration of this scheme is delegated to the Director of Revenues, Benefits and Customer Service and officers authorised by them.

This policy will be reviewed annually and updated to reflect changes in legislation, guidance, funding arrangements and local priorities.

The latest version will be available on the Council's website.