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Waverley: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Waverley’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

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

What Waverley’s scheme covers

What you get: Tops up housing benefit, capped at the rent actually paid
Who qualifies: Applicant must show severe financial hardship because of a shortfall between rent and benefits
How often: Short-term measure; annual funding is limited and awards stop once exhausted for the year
How to apply: Apply online for the Housing Payment (Discretionary Housing Payment)
Decision: Council assesses the claim and writes to the applicant with its decision
Not covered: Cannot cover service charges included in rent, such as water rates or a tenant's levy
Government allocation: £127,156 for 2026-27

Waverley Borough Council is one of 11 district councils in Surrey. 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. Surrey County Council was allocated £7,278,801 for 2026-27; Waverley Borough Council was allocated £127,156 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Surrey scheme.

What Waverley itself says

What you get. “Housing Payment can top up housing benefit, but the total amount cannot be more than you pay in rent”
Who qualifies. “You will need to show you are suffering severe financial hardship because of the shortfall in your benefits”
How often. “The funds available for discretionary payments are limited each year. Once these have been spent no awards can be made that financial year”
How to apply. “Apply online for Discretionary Housing Payment”
Decision. “We will assess your claim and write to you with our decision”
Not covered. “cannot be given to cover service charges, which may be included in your rent, and other things such as water rates or a tenant's levy”

Quoted from Waverley’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 Waverley’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 Waverley scheme page

Source: Waverley Borough 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

Help with energy bills — grants and supplier schemes.
Eligibility checker — see what you could be entitled to.
White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.
Budgeting Advance or Budgeting Loan — interest-free from the DWP.

Not in Waverley?

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: Welwyn Hatfield, Castle Point, New Forest — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

Not in Waverley? 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 Waverley Borough 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.