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Welwyn Hatfield: Household Support Fund & Crisis and Resilience Fund

What Welwyn Hatfield’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

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

What Welwyn Hatfield’s scheme covers

Who qualifies: Must get Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit housing element but still be unable to pay accommodation costs
How to apply: Complete the form and email it to the council's benefits team
You will need: Needs evidence of rent arrears, last two months' bank statements, evidence of debts, and most recent Universal Credit award letter
Government allocation: £206,200 for 2026-27

Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council is one of 10 district councils in Hertfordshire. 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. Hertfordshire County Council was allocated £9,299,527 for 2026-27; Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council was allocated £206,200 of its own. If what you need is help with food or energy rather than rent, start with the Hertfordshire scheme.

What Welwyn Hatfield itself says

Who qualifies. “If you get Housing Benefit or the Housing Cost element within your Universal Credit but still cannot pay your accommodation costs”
How to apply. “complete the form in the link below and send it to <Welhat.Benefits@liberata.com>”
You will need. “evidence of your rent arrears”

Quoted from Welwyn Hatfield’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 Welwyn Hatfield’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 Welwyn Hatfield scheme page

Source: Welwyn Hatfield 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

White-goods grants — a broken fridge, cooker or washing machine.
Budgeting Advance or Budgeting Loan — interest-free from the DWP.
Credit union loans — the cheapest borrowing, capped at 3% a month.
DWP phone numbers — which line to call, and for what.

Not in Welwyn Hatfield?

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: West Lancashire, Chelmsford, Newcastle — see all 141.

Find your council by postcode

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

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This page is independent. It is not run by Welwyn Hatfield 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.