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Leicester: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Leicester’s local crisis scheme covers, how to apply, and whether it was open when we checked.

Written by the benefitmoney.co.uk editorial team · Last reviewed 14 September 2026

Leicester City Council runs its local crisis help as the Crisis and Resilience Fund. It is a grant — not a loan: help with essentials, nothing to repay. This is a summary; Leicester’s own page (linked below) is the authority and the current position.

What Leicester’s scheme covers

Covers: One-off payments for a sudden loss of income, difficulty paying rent, unexpected expenses, rent arrears, rental deposits
Status: not stated (confirmed 10 September 2026)
Funding period: Available until 31 March 2029
Award: Crisis Payment: £250 for households with dependent children (other tiers apply for single people / couples); Housing Payments and Council Tax Relief are based on individual circumstances
What you get: Paid directly to the applicant, in their name
Who qualifies: Must be on a low income, facing a financial shock, and have an immediate short-term need (for Crisis Payments); eligibility also depends on income, savings and circumstances generally
How to apply: Apply via the council's online MyAccount service
Not covered: Payments are for short-term need only, not a regular source of income
Government allocation: £8,307,340 for 2026-27

Amount depends on circumstances

Before you apply

Use the right route. Online via MyAccount (account needed); help available if you cannot apply online
Check it is still open. not stated We confirmed this on 10 September 2026.

Only what Leicester states on its own page. Other councils ask for more — see what they have in common.

What Leicester itself says

Award. “£250 if you have dependent children”
What you get. “All payments are made in your name”
Who qualifies. “on a low income, encounter a financial shock, and must meet an immediate, short-term need”
How to apply. “You need to create a MyAccount with the council to make an application”
Not covered. “for a short-term need. It is not a regular source of income”

Quoted from Leicester’s own page↗ and its application page↗, checked 14 September 2026. Nothing on this page is paraphrased into a rule the council has not published. The government allocation is from Annex A of the Crisis and Resilience Fund grant determination 2026 to 2027↗.

Apply on Leicester’s website

Applications are made on the council’s own site — this page collects nothing. If the link has moved, search the council site for “crisis and resilience”, then “household support”, then “welfare assistance”.

Open the Leicester scheme page

Source: Leicester City Council — Crisis and Resilience Fund. Opened 10 September 2026.

Where this money comes from

Central government funds it; the council sets the rules. A payment does not affect your benefits. How the fund works nationally.

Other help you may qualify for

How much councils pay — the cheapest borrowing, capped at 3% a month.
DWP phone numbers — which line to call, and for what.
Borrowing while on benefits — what it costs and what it does to your award.
Crisis Loans — what replaced them, and where to apply now.

Not in Leicester?

See the other councils we have checked, or find yours via GOV.UK’s Get help with the cost of living from your local council↗.

Outside England the scheme has a different name: the Scottish Welfare Fund in Scotland, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales, and Discretionary Support in Northern Ireland.

Recently checked elsewhere: Lichfield, Rochdale, Birmingham — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Leicester? Enter a postcode and we will point you at the right council’s Crisis and Resilience Fund page.

We look the postcode up with the free postcodes.io service to find your local authority. Nothing you type is stored.

This page is independent. It is not run by Leicester City Council, the Department for Work and Pensions or GOV.UK. Council schemes change without notice; the council’s own page is always the current position.