Discretionary Housing Payment Policy 2022-23

14.1 In deciding whether to award a DHP the following will be taken into account:

• any steps taken by the claimant to reduce expenditure, for example, by trying to negotiate a reduction in gross rent
• expenditure is reasonable in comparison to income
• the impact of Central Government's Welfare Reforms
• compliance with reasonable requests to engage with others including your landlord to improve circumstances
• the financial and medical circumstances of the claimant and all members of the claimant's household
• any savings or capital available to the claimant and all the members of  the claimant's household
• the level of debt owed by the claimant and all of the claimant's household
• any exceptional circumstances of the claimant and all of the claimant's household
• the amount available in the DHP  fund at the time of the application
• the possible impact of not making an award, for example, pressure on provision of accommodation for the homeless
• any other special circumstances

14.2 When awarding a DHP to assist with securing a new tenancy, the following factors will be considered:

• the authority will include information about the legal obligations for landlords to protect any deposit paid in a Government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme, compliance with this requirement will help reduce the need for future help with deposits
• establishing if the customer is due to have a deposit in respect of their exiting tenancy returned to them
• making payment to the landlord rather than the customer

14.3 On receipt of all required information a decision will be made within 10 working days.