Crisis and Resilience Fund housing payments
The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) housing payment is money from the UK government to help people who are struggling to pay their housing costs. The fund runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029.
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What is a CRF housing payment?
A CRF housing payment gives you short‑term help with your housing costs. It can give you some breathing space while you work on improving your housing or personal situation. It is not meant to support you long‑term, but we may help for longer in exceptional cases.
Who can get it
You can apply if you meet all of the following criteria:
- you live in Cheshire East
- you pay rent
- you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, or you qualify for them but have not been paid yet
What the payment can cover
You can use the payment for:
- the gap between your rent and the amount you get from Housing Benefit or Universal Credit
- costs linked to securing housing or downsizing
- rent deposits or rent in advance in exceptional cases
What the payment cannot cover
You cannot use the payment for:
- service charges that benefits do not cover
- rent increases caused by rent arrears
- sanctions or benefit reductions
- shortfalls caused by recovering Housing Benefit or Universal Credit overpayments
- times when your benefits are suspended
How to apply
Applications will open on 1 April 2026. If you need financial support before then, see Discretionary Housing Payments or Household Support Fund.
What we will need to know
Before we can give you a payment, we need to know what you have already done to improve your situation. For example, whether you:
- have spoken to your landlord to try to agree a change
- have registered with Cheshire Homechoice for other housing
- have checked that you get all the benefits you are entitled to
- are looking for work or trying to increase your hours
What happens next?
The Financial Welfare Team will look at your application and the information you have given. They will check your income and spending, and they will look at the reasons you need extra support.
An officer will phone you to discuss your application, so please make sure you give your phone number.
If you get a payment
If you receive Housing Benefit, we will pay the CRF housing payment alongside it.
If you get housing costs through Universal Credit, we will pay the CRF amount monthly.
The payment may go to you or directly to your landlord. We will tell you who will receive it when we confirm your payment.
If you do not get a payment
If you think we have not looked at your request properly, or you have new information, you can ask us to look at the decision again. You must write to us within 1 month of the date we tell you that you do not qualify.
A different officer will look at your request and send you their decision.
If you still disagree, you can ask for one more review. A panel of senior officers will look at your information. Their decision is final.
More help and advice
You can get help and advice from the Financial Welfare Team. You can also find useful information on our cost of living pages.
Page last reviewed: 18 March 2026
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