If you are finding hard to pay your rent or keep up with bills, you may qualify for additional benefits and support, depending on your circumstances.

However, working out what benefits or grants that you are entitled to can be tricky, especially with recent welfare changes. Community Housing's Tenancy Sustainability Team can provide help and support with getting the right benefit entitlements, and put you in touch with other organisations who can offer additional support.

Our advisors can check current entitlement, do 'what if' scenarios, and offer support with challenging benefit decisions and appealing against them. We can also help with budgeting and looking at ways to reduce bills and outgoings.

Our Benefits Calculator can help you to look at benefits entitlement and also has a very helpful budgeting tool.

For more information or guidance please contact the team at tenancysustainabilityteam@communityhousing.co.uk.

Cost of Living Payment 2023 - 2024

The Government have announced that the next Cost of Living payment will be paid between 31 October 2023 and 19 November 2023. You need to have been entitled to the following benefits between 18 August 2023 and 17 September 2023.

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

The payment will be made separately from your benefit payments.

If you did not receive the benefits in that qualifying period but became entitled to them retrospectively, you will get the payment. Pension Credit can be claimed up to 3 months in arrears so if you claim pension credit on or before 16 December 2023, you may qualify for this payment.

Disability Cost of Living Payment

Most people were paid £150 disability cost of living payment earlier this year. To qualify you needed to be entitled to the following benefits on 1 April 2023.

• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance for adults
• Disability Living Allowance for children
• Personal Independence Payment
• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

If you are awarded any of these benefits after 1 April 2023 but the entitlement covers that date, you will be entitled to this payment.

Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

If you're entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024, you will get an extra £150 or £300 paid with your normal payment from November 2023.

The full amount of Winter Fuel Payment (including the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) you will get for winter 2023 to 2024 depends on when you were born and your circumstances during the qualifying dates.

You can get a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024 if you were born before 25 September 1957.

You will be sent a letter in October or November telling you how much Winter Fuel Payment you'll get if you're eligible.

The Household Support Fund

Act on Energy are managing a part of the household support fund to support people with the cost of current energy use, and with energy debt. To find out more and to make a claim for help, click here.

Other Help

To find out more about what help is available, please visit https://www.gov.uk/