Housing Fund

Get Help with Housing Costs

The Housing Fund gives Zakat grants to help Muslims in the UK who need support to live in affordable, liveable and safe accommodation.

This is a two-step process, please press the button below to register your interest in Zakat. You will receive an email within 3-6 weeks about whether you can apply for Zakat.

Keeping families safe and secure in their homes

The Housing Fund provides support with Council Tax, Rent arrears, and Moving-in support to help with household needs.

Frequently asked questions

What can I get help with?

You can apply for help with:

  • Rent and Deposit – To move into an affordable and secure home
  • Rent Arrears – Rent owed on your current home
  • Council Tax Arrears – Council Tax debts
  • Moving-in Grant – To furnish your new home
Can I apply?

For all applications

To apply, you must be a Muslim living in the UK and be able to demonstrate that you are unable to afford the housing costs you are applying for help with. To confirm that you can get help, we will look at how much money you have, your monthly income and expenses.

If you are seeking asylum, are a full-time student, on a student visa, work permit or have no status in the UK, then you are not able to apply.

To apply for help from National Zakat Foundation you must have your own email address, mobile phone number and a device able to connect to the internet.

For Rent and Deposit

We can only help if you get a home with a Council or Housing association, estate agent or limited company. We can’t pay you for a rent and deposit that you have already paid.

If you have found a home you would like to move in to, we will need the tenancy agreement. If you are still looking for a home, you can still apply but you will have to give this to us later. The tenancy must be:

Secured or an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for a minimum of 6 months
The rent can be no more than your Local Housing Allowance (LHA) plus 5%. You can see what your LHA is here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/
The payment to move in must be 1 month of rent in advance and 1 month of equivalent rent as a deposit
The deposit must be placed in a deposit protection scheme
Your landlord must accept Housing Benefit

For Rent arrears

To apply for help with rent arrears, the rent you owe must be on the home you live in now. Also:

Your tenancy must be secured or an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for a minimum of 6 months

We will look at your income and your rent to make sure that you will be able to afford your rent going forward.

For Council Tax arrears

You will need to be in arrears of at least 3 months in your council tax payments. Your latest statement should be dated within the last 6 weeks of your application.

For a Moving in grant

For money to furnish and decorate your new home, we will need a signed tenancy agreement that shows:

1. You have moved into a new home in the last 6 months of your NZF application.

OR

2. You will move into your new home within 1 month of your NZF application.

How much help can I get?

For Rent or Council Tax arrears we can provide support of up to £6,000.

For Moving-in support we can provide between £350 to £1105 based on your family size.

How long will it take to get help?

We have a two step-process:

After registering for Zakat, you will be informed by email whether you will be able to make an application or whether we are over capacity.

You will receive this email within 3-6 weeks of joining the waiting list.

If we are above capacity, you will be able to apply to the waiting list again, after 1 month.

If you have been invited to apply, you will have 1 week to complete your application form.

Once you have submitted your application form, we will respond to your application within 2-3 weeks.

What happens once I have applied?

Once you have sent us your application, the Housing team will make sure that you have given us all the information and documents we need to look at your application and that you are eligible to apply for help. If there is anything you have missed, you will be asked to send it to us within 14 days. 

We will then look at how much money you have, your monthly income and expenses to confirm that we can help you. Depending on the type of help you need, we will look at the information and documents you have given to see if your accommodation is affordable for you and decide if we can help you. 

If we can give you a grant, we will email you to confirm this and arrange payment. If we cannot give you a grant, we will email you to tell you why. 

How many times can I apply?

We can give you one Zakat grant from the Housing Fund every 3 years, per need.

For example, if we help you with an Arrears Zakat grant in January 2024, you will not be able to apply for an Arrears Zakat grant again until January 2027, but you could apply for help with Rent and Deposit, or Moving-in grants at any time, as long as you have not received more than £6000 from the Housing Fund within 12 months. 

What information and documents do I need to give?

To apply for help, you will need to give us the following documents: 

Photo ID for you, your spouse and children under 18 

You can give us a copy of a passport, driving licence or other document given to you by the authorities. 

Bank statements 

We will need 3 full months of bank statements for all your bank accounts. For example, if you send us your application on 2nd January, you will need to give us bank statements for October, November and December. 

For help with rent and deposit, you will also need to give us the following documents: 

Tenancy Agreement

If you have found a home you would like to move in to, we will need the tenancy agreement. If you are still looking for a home, you can give this to us later. The tenancy must be:

  • Secured or an Assured Shorthold Tenancy for a minimum of 6 months 
  • The payment to move in must be 1 month of rent and 1 month for your deposit 
  • The deposit must be placed in a deposit protection scheme 
  • Your landlord must be willing to accept Housing Benefit 
  • The property must be semi or fully furnished. 
  • If the property is managed by an estate/lettings agent, then the agent must be a member of one of the government’s approved schemes 

Housing Benefit/Universal Credit entitlement
We will need a letter from your council or a print-out of your Universal Credit statement to confirm how much Housing Benefit you get.

 

For help with rent arrears, you will also need to give us the following documents:

Tenancy Agreement
We will need the tenancy agreement for where you live now.

Rent statement
We will need the rent statement which shows how much rent you owe and for what period.

Housing Benefit/Universal Credit entitlement
We will need a letter from your council or a print-out of your Universal Credit statement to confirm how much Housing Benefit you get. 

 

For help with Council tax arrears, you will also need to give us the following documents:

Council Tax statement
We will need the statement which shows how much council tax you owe and for what period.

 

For help with Moving in grant – To furnish your new home, you will also need to give us the following document: 

Tenancy Agreement We will need a tenancy agreement for your new home.

How will the help be given?

For rent and deposit, your Zakat grant will be given directly to your landlord. 

For rent arrears and Council Tax arrears, your Zakat grant will be given directly to your council or Housing Association. 

For the Moving-in Zakat Grant we will transfer money into your account to purchase items such as furniture, carpet or flooring.

What if I am not happy with your service?

Although we may not be able to help everyone who applies to us, we are committed to providing a high-quality service to all our applicants. If something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. We will use the information you give us to help improve our service.

If you are not happy about any part of our service, please contact us via this page.

What will happen next?

We will reply to your email to confirm that we have received it within 5 working days.

We will look into your complaint, review any evidence available, and speak to members of staff if appropriate.

We will aim to reply to your complaint within 10 working days. If this is not possible, we will send you an update.

Do you still have questions?

If you have any questions that aren’t answered on this page, you can contact us below.