Household Support Fund

You may be able to get help from us with essential costs. This is known as the Household Support Fund.

The fund is provided by the government. The funding is available from 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025.

What is the Household Support Fund?

We use this fund to support you if you’re struggling to afford things like:

Each household can apply twice in the same period.

Citizens Advice Redbridge at the Central Library can make referrals to us.

Important

We do not offer loans as part of the Household Support Fund.

We’ll never call you inviting you to apply for a loan as part of this scheme.

We’ll never ask you to make payment so you can receive the Household Support Fund.

You can apply if:

you're over 18 years old
you do not have savings over £1,000
you live in Redbridge or temporary accommodation provided by us
you experience financial hardship, particularly with essential costs like food and energy

We’ll consider your application if you're getting no recourse to public funds.

You do not have to be getting benefits to get help from us. If you get benefits, they will not be affected by the Household Support Fund.

You’ll need:

proof of income from all adults living in the household, for example bank statement or payslip
any debt information
proof of ID such as passport, driver’s licence, national identity card
proof of address such as council tax, gas, electricity or water bill
utility bills for gas, electricity and water for the last three months

Make sure you've all the information you need to hand before you start.

You can add your documents when you apply.

You can save your application and come back to it later. You’ll have 30 days to complete this.

We’ll email you a link which you can use to complete the form.

You'll receive a confirmation email with your reference number. You may want to keep this for your records.

We’ll let you know the outcome of your application in writing. This will be within one month of you submitting it.

Check you're receiving all the benefits you're entitled to
join the Ilford Community Grocery Store for £5 a year
visit TCL Reuse Centre for refurbished furniture and white goods at affordable prices
get cost of living advice
apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment
check what support is available at Turn2Us
get support with preparing for work and finding employment at Work Redbridge
go to Money Helper for free money advice