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What is a Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF) housing payment?
A CRF housing payment gives you short‑term help with your housing costs. It can give you some breathing space while you work on improving your housing or personal situation. It is not meant to support you long‑term, but we may help for longer in exceptional cases.
Who can get the payment?
You can apply if you meet all of the following criteria:
you live in Stockton-on-Tees
you pay rent
you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs, or you qualify for them but have not been paid yet
What the payment can cover
You can use the payment for:
the gap between your rent and the amount you get from Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs
costs linked to securing housing or downsizing
rent deposits or rent in advance in exceptional cases
What the payment cannot cover
You cannot use the payment for:
service charges that benefits do not cover
rent increases caused by rent arrears
sanctions or benefit reductions
shortfalls caused by recovering Housing Benefit or Universal Credit overpayments
times when your benefits are suspended
What we need to know
Before we can give you a payment, we need to know what you have already done to improve your situation.
For example, whether you:
have spoken to your landlord to try to agree a change
have checked that you get all the benefits and discounts that you are entitled to
are looking for work or trying to increase your hours
If you are unable to complete the form online please phone us on 01642 524180 for further assistance.
What happens next?
The Welfare Support Team will look at your application and the information you have given. They will check your income and spending, and they will look at the reasons you need extra support.
An officer will contact you so please make sure you give your email and phone number.
If you get a payment
If you receive Housing Benefit, we will pay the CRF housing payment alongside it. If you get housing costs through Universal Credit, we will pay the CRF amount monthly.
The payment may go to you or directly to your landlord. We will tell you who will receive it when we confirm your payment.
If you do not get a payment
Request a review
If you think we have not looked at your request properly, or you have new information, you can ask us to look at the decision again. You must write to us within 1 month of the date we tell you that you do not qualify.
A different officer will look at your request and send you their decision.
If you still disagree, you can ask for one more review. A panel of senior officers will look at your information. Their decision is final.
