Get help through Hackney Here to Help

We may provide 1 to 2 items if you’re moving out of temporary accommodation. Usually, we only provide essential items like cookers, fridges, and beds. Washing machines are not essential, unless you have a specific disability or medical need.

We will not consider awards if you can reasonably provide the items from your own resources. We don’t reimburse if you’ve already bought the item, even if you’ve borrowed money to do so.

Help is only available in rare cases. For example, your health or safety would be at risk if the item is not provided. We don’t normally replace items that have failed due to wear and tear.

Hackney Here to Help have previously provided items in the following circumstances:

• a fridge or freezer –  the resident had medication that required refrigeration
• a washing machine – the resident had a medical condition that required frequent washing of clothes
• an oven – the resident had specific health and dietary conditions, which meant they had to cook specific food
• a bed – the resident was seriously ill or disabled, and it wasn’t reasonable for them to sleep on the floor
• a cooker, fridge and bed – a property was cleared of all items due to neglect, hoarding, or a severe pest infestation

You must live in Hackney or be living in Hackney Temporary Accommodation to apply.

We can help with removals, where you have no option but to move addresses.

The property you’re moving from must be in Hackney or Hackney Temporary Accommodation.

Your new property must be affordable.

London Borough of Hackney arranges all removals. You must apply before the move. If you have sourced your own removals we do not reimburse.

We may help with rents and deposits. We can only help if you’re in receipt of Housing Benefit or the Housing Cost element of Universal Credit.

• Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs must be in payment at the address you’re moving from
• the address you’re moving from must be in Hackney or Hackney Temporary Accommodation
• the address you’re moving to must be affordable – this means at or slightly above the Local Housing Allowance Rate for the area
• you must apply before you move into the property
• payments are normally released directly to the new landlord, once the tenancy agreement is signed
• you must have found a property to move into before applying for help
• you must not have savings which could be used to pay the deposit

We may be able to cover the shortfall between your rent, and your Housing Benefit or Universal Credit Housing Cost element for a short period. We base all decisions on your merits, and we will consider the steps you’re taking to improve your housing situation.

We can’t:

• help if you’re not in receipt of Housing Benefit or the Housing Cost element of Universal Credit
• clear rent arrears caused by breaks in benefit claims
• clear rent arrears where you have been paid money for your rent in your Universal Credit and not paid it to your landlord
• clear shortfalls caused by the non-payment of personal service charges (gas, electric, water, etc.) or due to the recovery of overpayment from benefits

If you need help with rent arrears, we will only pay part and expect you to commit to a repayment plan. We will work with you to set up an affordable repayment plan.

If you get Council Tax Reduction and have a shortfall between your Council Tax and your benefit, we may be able to cover it for a short time.

Awards are only made where you establish that you’re in financial hardship. You must also show that you have exhausted all other options such as setting up an affordable arrangement plan with Council Tax.

We can’t help with Council Tax if you do not get Council Tax Reduction. Or if the arrears cover a time when Council Tax Reduction wasn’t paid.

Awards are short-term and one-off, and aren’t designed to provide ongoing help.

We may be able to help you if you’re struggling with food or fuel costs. Awards are usually small and one off.

You must live in Hackney. We can’t help residents who live outside of the borough, including those in Hackney Temporary Accommodation.

We usually only allow one award per household per year, except in the most exceptional circumstances. We won’t give more if your household already got one this year (since January 2024).

This is not a crisis service. It can take 2 to 3 weeks for a decision to be made.

The department of work and pensions funds the Household Support Fund, which provides help for food and fuel.

If you do not agree with a decision made by Hackney Here to Help, you can request a review of a decision.

Request a review of a decision

If you are unable to complete the online form, call 0208 356 3111. We will help you complete the review request over the phone.

The review decision is final. Hackney Here to Help is discretionary, so there’s no statutory right to appeal.

If, after a review, you think that we’ve not followed our policies correctly, or acted illegally, you can:

• submit a complaint via the council’s complaints procedure
• take the council to Judicial Review
• ask the Valuation Tribunal to decide if we have applied our Council Tax Reduction scheme correctly

If you disagree with a decision about your Housing Benefits or Council Tax Reduction, visit Housing benefit disputes and appeals.