CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Self-isolation payment
If you are losing income because you have:
- tested positive for coronavirus and/or
- been told to self isolate by the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect system
you might be able to apply for a £750 self-isolation payment.
Parents and carers of children who have been told to self-isolate by the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect system can also apply.
To qualify you must either be:
- receiving statutory sick pay (SSP)
- working and earning less than £500 per week, or
- getting one of the following benefits:
universal credit (UC)
income based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
working tax credit
income support
housing benefit
pension credit.
You will need to contact your local council to apply. Find details of your local council and how to apply here.
If your application is approved, you should receive confirmation by email or letter within 3 working days.
If you do not receive one of the benefits above you may still be eligible for a discretionary payment if you have been formally told to self-isolate. Contact your local council for more details.
Discretionary Assistance Fund
The Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) provides urgent grants to people in Wales as a last resort. Take a look at our advice below for more details on how to apply.
If you make an application to the DAF before 31 March 2022, it should be dealt with more flexibly than usual.
During this period you are able to make up to 5 rather than 3 claims for an Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP) in a 12 month period and you do not have to wait for 28 days from your last grant before you receive another one.
Discretionary Housing Payment
If you are struggling to pay your rent and are already receive housing benefit or universal credit (UC) housing costs you could apply for a discretionary housing payment to ‘top-up’ your rent.
Tenancy Hardship Grant
If you rent your home and have not been able to pay your rent because of coronavirus you might be able to apply to your local council for a Tenancy Hardship Grant (THG). A THG is paid directly to your landlord to cover rent arrears and does not need to be paid back.
To receive a THG you must:
- rent your home from a private landlord, the council or a housing association
- have fallen atleast 8 weeks behind with your rent between 1 March 2020 and 31 December 2021 as a result of financial hardship caused by coronavirus
- not have received housing benefit or universal credit housing costs when the rent arrears built up.
A THG could be right for you if you lost income during the pandemic, for example because you were furloughed, your hours dropped, your universal credit reduced when the uplift was removed or you were ill.
To apply for a THG you need to email your local council using the email addresses here. Make sure you include ‘THG Support Grant’ as the subject line of your e-mail. The council should then be in touch with you to make the application. For more details about the THG scheme click here.