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Uttlesford: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Uttlesford’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

Uttlesford District 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; Uttlesford’s own page (linked below) is the authority and the current position.

What Uttlesford’s scheme covers

What you get: Exceptional Hardship Fund awards are credited to the Council Tax account, not paid as cash
Who qualifies: Receiving Housing Benefit or UC housing element, needing extra help with rent, capital under £16,000
How often: Limited annual funding; no further awards once allocated funds are used up
How to apply: Apply in writing using the CRFHP application form, by post or email
Decision: Exceptional Hardship Fund decided within 21 working days once all info received
You will need: Last two months' bank statements and other relevant documents
Not covered: Not eligible for CRFHP if capital exceeds £16,000; EHF excludes those avoiding/refusing council tax payment
Government allocation: £90,283 for 2026-27

Uttlesford District Council is one of 12 district councils in Essex. In a two-tier area the county council runs crisis payments and the district runs the housing side of the fund — rent shortfalls, a deposit, rent in advance. Essex County Council was allocated £16,866,968 for 2026-27; Uttlesford District Council was allocated £90,283 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Essex scheme.

What Uttlesford itself says

What you get. “Awards from the fund are made to the applicants Council Tax account and are not a monetary payment”
Who qualifies. “you receive Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (with housing element), and you need extra help to pay your rent”
How often. “We only have a limited amount of funding available each year. Once we have allocated all of the money we can't make any further awards”
How to apply. “You must apply in writing using our CRFHP application form”
Decision. “Within 21 working days, on the provision that all satisfactory information requested has been received”
You will need. “any other documents relevant to your claim”
Not covered. “If you have more than £16,000 in capital you will not be eligible to receive support”

Quoted from Uttlesford’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 Uttlesford’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 Uttlesford scheme page

Source: Uttlesford District 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

Credit union loans — 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 Uttlesford?

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: Wakefield, Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Uttlesford? 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 Uttlesford District 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.