Short on rent: what replaced Discretionary Housing Payments in England on 1 April 2026

If you cannot cover the rent, the bills or the food shop, the first door is not the DWP but your local council. Since 1 April 2026 that help in England is called the Crisis and Resilience Fund, and it has replaced Discretionary Housing Payments.

What changed on 1 April 2026?

Discretionary Housing Payments no longer exist in England: the Crisis and Resilience Fund has replaced them. That is stated in the DWP factsheet on applying for a DHP, updated on 1 April 2026, which now says the factsheet applies to Wales only.

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The fund runs for three years: funding covers the period from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029. The money goes to councils in England as a grant, both to help people facing a financial crisis and to fund preventative support in communities.

What can you ask for help with?

GOV.UK lists four groups of essential costs: energy and water bills; food; essential items; and housing costs. It also notes that your council may offer food vouchers to families during the school holidays.

An important difference from benefits: you do not have to be getting benefits to apply. The funding is aimed at anyone who is vulnerable or cannot pay for essentials. And if you do claim benefits, a payment from the Crisis and Resilience Fund will not affect them.

How do you apply?

Through your local council. Councils decide how to run their own schemes, so there may be differences in the eligibility criteria, in whether and how you need to apply, and in who the money is given to. Some councils share the money out through local charities and community groups; some limit households to one application a year.

The practical conclusion is simple: check with your own council, because there is no single England-wide form.

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What about Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Different schemes with different names. Scotland has the Scottish Welfare Fund and Wales has the Discretionary Assistance Fund. Discretionary Housing Payments survive as a separate payment in Scotland and Wales, and that is where GOV.UK points residents of those nations. The DWP publishes a separate version of the factsheet for Northern Ireland.

What other housing help is there?

Alongside the fund, GOV.UK suggests checking three things: what benefits and financial support you can get; whether you qualify for council tax support on a low income or on certain benefits; and, in Scotland and Wales, applying for a discretionary housing payment.

Housing Benefit is a separate route. You can only make a new claim for it in two cases: you have reached State Pension age, or you live in supported, sheltered or temporary housing. Otherwise housing costs are covered through Universal Credit. You usually will not get Housing Benefit if your savings are over £16,000 (unless you get Guarantee Credit of Pension Credit), if you are paying a mortgage on your own home, if you live in the home of a close relative, or if you already claim Universal Credit.

If the problem is a mortgage rather than rent, the scheme to look at is Support for Mortgage Interest.