One-off £225 cost of living payments awarded in January and February | Personal Finance | Finance
Eligible households can get a one-off payment worth £225 (Image: Getty)
Households in one part of the UK are being awarded one-off cost of living payments worth up to £225 in January and February.
The payments will be sent directly into bank accounts of eligible households in Tandridge, east Surrey, who are struggling financially. Tandridge District Council is running a Winter Support Scheme to support residents on low incomes with the cost of living, and is distributing a £150,000 grant among households from its own resources.
The council said applications for the support will be processed on a first come, first served basis and the scheme will close once all funds have been allocated.
Households without children can get a cost of living payment worth £125, while households with children aged 18 or under will get £225.
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The payments are being awarded to successful applicants in January and February and will be made by BACS transfer to a nominated bank account.
To qualify for the support, the person receiving the payment must be aged 16 or over, live in the Tandridge district, and be in financial difficulty. This means struggling to meet the cost of essential items like food, fuel or energy bills for themselves or their dependents.
Households will need to submit evidence online, such as three bank statements showing all banking transactions, as part of their application, and the payments are available to those who may have already received other grants this winter.
Tandridge District Council said: “If your application is successful, households without children will receive £125. Households with children aged 18 or under will receive £225.
“Successful applicants to the Tandridge Winter Support Scheme will receive a one-off payment either at the end of January 2026 or at the end of February 2026. Payments will be by BACS transfer to your nominated bank account.
“It may take longer to process your application if checks are required, or you have not supplied your bank statements.”
Although this specific support applies in one area of South West England, households in other parts of the UK can also receive cost of living support this winter too.
Cash is available via four Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) schemes, which include the Winter Fuel Payment, the Warm Home Discount Scheme, Cold Weather Payments and the Household Support Fund.
The Winter Fuel Payment is an automatic tax-free payment of £100 to £300 for people born before September 22, 1959, to help with heating costs, while the Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 discount on electricity for eligible low-income or vulnerable households.
Cold Weather Payments are automatically awarded to eligible households if temperatures stay below 0C for seven days, and are worth £25, and the Household Support Fund gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million to help struggling households afford essential living costs over the winter months, including energy bills, food and other essentials.
This funding is allocated from now until March 31, 2026, and local councils independently decide how to share the cash, so depending on where you live, there may be different criteria to qualify for the support.
