EnglandA guide for advisers on how to help someone in a financial crisis, in rent or mortgage arrears or in need of other financial support.
As an adviser working with people in financial crisis, you should consider practical ways you can help, through steps like:
checking benefits and income
applying for short-term financial help
referring or signposting for further help
negotiating with a landlord or lender
£23 billion in benefits are unclaimed each year.
Many people in financial crisis will have already checked their entitlement, but you can help to make sure that they're receiving everything they're entitled to.
You need to make sure your client has gathered key information before you can complete a check, including the client's (and any partner they have):
current income (including any wages or benefits)
household details, including their date of birth, plus that of any children or non-dependents
current postcode
nationality or immigration status
housing costs, such as rent or mortgage per month
council tax banding
details of any assets they have, such any property they own
details of any health issues
whether anyone in the household is a student, in hospital, care, or in prison
You can carry out a benefits check in lots of places online. Some of the most used online benefits calculators are:
With the Turn2Us benefit calculator, you can:
save a PDF copy
send a copy of the calculation to your email
receive a unique reference so you can return to the calculation at a later date
With the Entitledto calculator, you can:
download a PDF copy
save a copy of the calculation if you create an account
send a copy of the calculation to your email if you create an account
Once you've completed the check, you can download the record or send a copy to your client.
Check if any benefits your client is already getting match the figure on the calculation.
They should make a claim immediately if there's anything they are entitled to but not receiving. You could signpost your client to the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service if they need extra help to make universal credit claim.
If they are receiving less than the calculation says, they'll need to look into why this is and contact the relevant benefits agency, such as universal credit or their local housing benefit department.
A person in financial crisis might have a problem with their benefits, such as a sanction or deductions, but might be unsure what's gone wrong.
You might be able to resolve a benefits problem by helping them to contact the relevant benefits agency.
The easiest way to contact universal credit is through someone's online journal.
You could help them to draft a message they can add to their universal credit online journal themselves.
If you want to call universal credit, you'll need to ask your client to add you as a representative. Find out more about this from gov.uk: Universal credit consent and disclosure of information.
Housing benefit is managed through the local authority. Search online for the local authority name and 'housing benefit' to get the contact details for the correct department.
You can draft a message to help your client ask a question about their benefits problem. For simpler problems, a few messages might resolve the problem.
For example, you might need explain that your client is exempt from the benefit cap, should not have a non-dependent deduction or clarify why other deductions are being made.
If the problem is more complicated, your client might need to consider their options to formally challenge the decision.
If there is a problem with your client's benefit award and you think there's been a mistake, you could help them to ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
A mandatory reconsideration can be requested via the universal credit online journal.
Useful resources on challenging benefits decisions include:
A financial statement or income and expenditure (I&E) form is a written record of someone's income, outgoings and debts.
A financial statement can be used to provide a record of your client's financial situation. This information could be useful to:
check benefits entitlement
apply for additional financial support, such as discretionary housing payments
negotiate with landlords, lenders or other creditors
To complete a financial statement, you'll need to follow a few steps.
You'll need to find some time to go through the form with your client. You should allow at least an hour to complete the form, and potentially longer if the situation is complex.
Before you complete the form, ask your client to get together their bank statements and things like payslips or benefits statements.
You could ask your client to complete a basic version of the form before you start, so the key details are already recorded.
You should use a template to complete the statement.
Many advice organisations are registered to use the Standard Financial Statement or SFS. The SFS provides a standardised template for financial statements across the advice sector. Check if your organisation is registered to use the Standard Financial Statement.
Other organisations such as Stepchange also have an income and expenditure template which can be used to record key financial details.
Business debtline has a budget template for people who run a business.
Any template you use should record key details, including:
income from employment, benefits, child support etc
rent or mortgage costs
spending on other household essentials, including food, toiletries, water, gas, electricity, travel and any childcare costs
debts, including rent or mortgage arrears, council tax arrears, utility bill arrears, credit card debts and money owed to friends and family
It's important that spending which is not every month is still reflected in the statement - so for instance, you might need to ask for an annual total for spending on things like clothing and divide this by 12 to get a monthly figure.
Once the form has been filled out, you should ask the client to review the form to confirm it's an accurate reflection of their income and spending.
You can then assess how much the client has left each month.
If the financial statement shows your client has enough to make a repayment offer to their landlord or lender, you can discuss with them how much they can afford.
If the client is spending more than their income, they will need to consider if they can reduce any of their spending. They'll need to go through every item in their financial statement to do this.
This might mean reducing expenditure on non-essentials or only making minimum payments towards non-priority debts. If it's not possible to cut spending, your client will need to look at alternatives urgently.
A discretionary housing payment (DHP) can help if someone has a shortfall on their rent.
DHPs are awarded by the local council and will normally be awarded for a short period, such as a few weeks or months.
Your client must already claim universal credit housing costs or housing benefit to apply for a DHP. If they're not already claiming either of these benefits, you can complete a benefits check to see if they are eligible.
DHPs are discretionary, as the name suggests, so the council can refuse applications.
DHPs are a good option if someone is affected by the bedroom tax or if their rent has otherwise become unaffordable for a limited period of time. If the client is facing eviction due to rent arrears, a DHP might be a short term help while they take other steps to resolve their situation.
A DHP should not be relied on as a long term solution. Once the DHP ends, your client might be able to re-apply, but their application might be declined.
If your client is at risk of homelessness due to a rent shortfall, applying for DHP might be a step suggested by the local authority under their prevention duty.
You need to check your client’s local authority area. You can do this via gov.uk: Find your local council.
Search for the local authority area and 'discretionary housing payment' to locate the form. The form could be an online form, or a PDF or word document which needs to be downloaded and returned.
In order to complete the DHP application with your client, you’ll usually need information about their income, housing costs and other key expenses, such as childcare, food, household bills, travel.
If the DHP application is approved, the council will confirm how long the payment is awarded for. Your client can re-apply at the end of this period but the council might not award the DHP again.
Whether the application is approved or not, your client should start looking into their next steps. This might mean moving, getting advice on alternative accommodation, or trying to increase their income.
If someone is in financial crisis, it's worth checking if they might be entitled to apply for any grants.
The options available will depend on factors like the area your client lives, their household and work history.
All local councils have a hardship fund. You can search online to find the details of your client's local authority scheme.
These funds are usually reserved for people who are in crisis and who need support to pay for essential household items. As a result, you'll normally need to provide information about their income and other financial details.
It can help if you've already completed a financial statement and have the figures to hand.
You can use the grants search tool on the Turn2Us site. Not all organisations which can offer grants will show on this search, but it's a good starting point.
There might be specific grants your client can apply for for help with energy costs. Find out from Citizens Advice about grants and benefits to help pay energy bills.
It’s worth asking your client about their employment history, as many occupational organisations offer support or grants to people in the industry. If your client is a member of a trade union, they also might be able to help.
Some examples of organisations which might be able to offer financial or other support, specific to certain industries are:
Grocery Aid if your client has ever worked in the grocery industry, such as in a supermarket
Licensed Trade Charity if your client has ever worked in the pub, bar or brewery industries
Veterans' Gateway if your client has been in the armed forces
Ask about your client's work history and search online to see if there are any similar organisations.
When you're working with someone who is struggling to afford food, you should check whether you can help with a foodbank referral.
Foodbanks normally provide three days worth of food supplies and non-food supplies, such as toiletries.
First, you'll need to search for the foodbanks in the local area.
The Trussell Trust is a well known provider of foodbanks, and it has a search function on their website. Not all foodbanks will show on this search tool, but many will.
You can also search online for other foodbanks in your client’s specific area – for example, there might be a foodbank run by a church or another religious group.
The process depends on the foodbank you are referring to.
For many foodbanks, it’s necessary for a referral to be made – this can often be done by GPs and other agencies, such as social workers.
It will depend your own role and on the foodbank procedure as to whether they will accept a referral from you directly.
As a foodbank referral is by it's nature urgent, it's worth calling to confirm if they will accept a referral from you.
If you can't refer or speak to anyone, search for any foodbanks in the area which don't require referrals.
A foodbank is only intended to be a short-term, emergency option. There is normally a limit on how often someone can get food from a foodbank, or on the numbers of food parcels they can get in a set period.
If your client's situation isn't going to be resolved immediately, you should see if they can apply for other support, such as other grants or a discretionary housing payment if they have a shortfall on their rent.
Someone might need additional debt advice if they have multiple debts, such as council tax debt, utility arrears, arrears on their rent or mortgage or credit card debts.
Debt solutions could include applying for a breathing space moratorium, obtaining a debt relief order or bankruptcy.
A breathing space moratorium can be particularly helpful to people in rent or mortgage arrears. A moratorium can stop creditors, including landlords and lenders, from taking enforcement action on debts for up to 60 days.
This includes preventing a landlord from serving notice on rent arrears grounds or starting a possession claim during the moratorium period.
Read more in our guide to breathing space for tenants.
You can signpost to organisations such as Citizens Advice, National Debtline, Stepchange and Payplan.
If your client is a council or housing association tenant, they might be able to get help with debt advice from their landlord.
As a professional, you can also contact Shelter’s Specialist Debt Advice Service if you have a specific question about debt solutions.
Read more about where to get debt and money advice on Shelter Legal.
If someone is in rent or mortgage arrears, and is trying to resolve a financial crisis, they should contact their landlord or lender. You could help your client to do this if they agree.
First, you should check:
how much your client is in arrears
if a notice has been served
whether any court action has already begun
if there are any key dates already set, for example, a court hearing or eviction date
Find out more about the possession proceedings process and applications to suspend a warrant on Shelter Legal.
People who are at risk of possession proceedings can get early legal advice and help in court under the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service.
You might be able to refer someone to a HLPAS provider. Find out more about the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service on gov.uk.
You'll need to make sure that the client is happy for you to contact their landlord or lender.
If the landlord is an organisation like a local authority or housing association, you might need to obtain a signed form of authority from your client to send through to the landlord or lender.
A private landlord is less likely to ask for written authority, but it's good practice to obtain written authorisation anyway.
You may also be able to speak to a landlord over the phone if your client is on the line or with you in person to give their consent.
Social landlords should follow the pre-action protocol for possession claims by social landlords. The protocol aims to encourage more contact between the parties before any possession action to try to prevent the parties from going to court.
The protocol can be considered by the court if the landlord takes possession action. For example, the court might consider the landlord's actions when determining if it is reasonable to award possession on a discretionary ground.
Under the protocol, steps social landlords should take include:
contacting the tenant about rent arrears
trying to agree a repayment plan with the tenant
assisting the tenant with a claim for benefits
Find out more about the pre-action protocol for possession claims by social landlords on Shelter Legal.
A private rented landlord could serve a tenant with either a no-fault section 21 notice or a section 8 if they have rent arrears. As a section 21 notice is a no-fault notice, there is less room for negotiation with a landlord, but it might still be worth contacting them.
Private landlords don't have the same pre-action protocol to follow, but it might still be worth contacting a private rented landlord if the tenant is happy for you to do so.
Speak to your client to see if they'd be happy for you to contact their landlord.
Check whether a section 21 notice is valid using our checker tool.
Mortgage lenders must follow the pre-action protocol for possession claims based on mortgage arrears. The protocol aims to encourage contact before any court action to ensure that a possession claim is a last resort.
Under the protocol, steps mortgage lenders should take include:
consider extending the term of the mortgage, changing the type of mortgage or deferring the interest payments
discuss proposals for repayments of the arrears
consider reasonable requests to vary the date or method of payment
Find out more about lender steps before court action for mortgage arrears on Shelter Legal.
Find out more about where to get debt and money advice on Shelter Legal.