Crisis payment

Crisis payments (where appropriate) help with essential costs if you face a serious financial shock. This could include:

• redundancy
• bereavement
• domestic abuse
• fire or flood damage to your property.

We plan to launch an interim crisis support scheme by the end of August 2026. This page will be updated with full details, including how to apply, as soon as services are live.

These timings are an estimate and may change.

Who will be eligible

To be eligible for crisis support, you must be:

• aged 16 or over
• a permanent Kent resident, paying council tax to one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bexley, or Bromley)
• in receipt of means tested benefits or, if you are not in receipt of means tested benefits, you have a household income of £33,000 or less per year
• experiencing an urgent need due to an emergency, disaster, unforeseen situation or a pressing need significantly beyond normal low income pressures
• able to demonstrate your household budgets are normally managed effectively.

If you do not meet the above criteria for crisis support, check our main Crisis and Resilience Fund page to find out what other support is available to you.