Household support fund
Energy and food cost support
If you need additional financial help due to exceptional hardship, you may be eligible for help with food, energy or other essentials.
Applications for the household support fund will be made online, but please be aware that:
- you can only make one application in any six month period
- if you live with a spouse or partner, you must make a joint application for your household even if your spouse/partner does not apply. Your eligibility will depend on your joint income and savings
Please note that this funding is only available to households in receipt of either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. If your household does not qualify for either of these, unfortunately you will not be eligible for assistance and will be unable to progress an application.
If you are receiving either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, you can apply for this support using the following button, however please read the below tips before applying.
How to apply
To apply for support, you will be required to create an online account. Once logged in, if you are not taken directly to the application page, you can find this application by using quick code 307B3R.
Property reference number
In order to verify that your household is eligible for support, you will be asked to provide your property reference number. If you do not know your property reference number, please visit Tax.service.GOV.uk to find your property. Once found, this will provide you with a Local Authority reference number, which is the property reference that you require for your application.
If you are currently in a property which does not have its own individual property reference or multiple households likely to share a reference but you are receiving Housing Benefit e.g. a Bed and Breakfast, joint tenancy or houseboat, please contact 0808 175 3599 to obtain your relevant property reference to apply.
Banking Checks
As part of this application, a bank verification check will be completed to ensure that the bank account declared belongs to the person applying for support. If at the end of your application you are advised that further evidence is required, this means that this bank check has failed and this further evidence is needed to consider your application. This could be because the name on your bank account is not an exact match to the details you completed as the applicant, such as missing middle name.
Please provide evidence that the bank account belongs to you e.g. bank statement which shows the account name, bank account number and sort code clearly visible. The quickest way to provide this is by uploading the statement to your application form which will allow us to verify the account details provided quicker. Alternatively, please provide this to householdsupport@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk along with your seven digit application reference. If you do not provide your evidence when requested then unfortunately we will be unable to consider your application so please ensure this is provided.
