Your home

• Housing
  Get advice if you’re homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless. You can also get support with housing issues, such as tenancy and mortgage worries.
• East Sussex Floating Support Service 
  This service at BHT Sussex  provides help for people 16 and over with housing needs and helps families to avoid homelessness.

Household Support Fund

Does your household need extra support this winter?

If you’ll find it difficult to keep warm, get enough food or pay essential bills you may be able to get extra help.

• Household Support Fund - extra help for those most in need 

Keeping warm

Keep warm and well in East Sussex is full of tips to help keep you warm and well at home. Eligible residents can also get a free warm home check:

• Keep warm and well

Warm spaces in your community 

Warm spaces are safe, warm, non-judgemental spaces where you can sit and be warm, work or study, have a hot drink and access advice about the cost of living.

To see what is on offer at a community venue near you, check out the national site:

• Warm Welcome Space - find a warm space

Some local councils also have their own warm spaces directory:

• Eastbourne
• Lewes
• Rother
• Seaford
• Wealden - see the national Warm Spaces directory 

Register for priority services

Did you know that power and water companies give priority help to some customers when services are interrupted? But first you need to register for this help. 

People who may qualify include pensioners, families with children under five, people with disability, serious illness or mental health difficulty and people who rely on medical equipment or refrigerated medicine. 

• Register for Priority Services with UK Power Networks 

Either South East Water or Southern Water will be your water supplier:

• Register for Priority Services with South East Water
• Register for Priority Services with Southern Water

Household bills

Check the MoneySavingExpert website for guides and tools to help you get the best deals on your household bills. 

Energy

Most households in England, Scotland and Wales get a £400 discount on their energy bills automatically.

In some cases, you do not get the discount automatically, for example if you:

• pay for energy through a landlord, housing manager or site owner
• live in a park home, houseboat or off the electricity grid.

In these cases, you can apply for energy bill support if you do not get it automatically - GOV.UK.

If you use alternative fuels for heating, you may be eligible for a £200 Alternative Fuels Payment (AFP): 

• Help with your energy bills - GOV.UK

Water

In East Sussex, Southern Water and South East Water provide payment schemes and some customers are eligible for discounts: 

• South East Water - help paying your bill
• Southern Water - what if I can't pay my bill?  

Broadband

• Broadband social tariffs - Ofcom
  Social tariffs are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. Some providers call them ‘essential’ or ‘basic’ broadband.

Young carers

• Funding help for young carers
  Helps young people under 18-years-old who look after someone at home who can’t look after themselves. This may be due to disability, mental or physical health conditions or drug or alcohol issues.