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Crisis Loans[edit]

Crisis Loans are loans that are available to you if you have no other way of gaining finance and if you or your family's health is at risk due to a disaster or an emergency. There are two types of crisis loans, crisis loans through the government and crisis loans through an unsecured lender. The government crisis loans are interest-free and harder to obtain with stricter lending terms and the unsecured crisis loans have a high interest rate yet they have more relaxed lending terms.
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What is a crisis loan?

A crisis loan is an interest-free personal loan that is usually provided by Directgov in the case of emergency or disaster. You may be eligible for a crisis loan if there is no other way you can gain finance and yours and your family's health is at risk from a disaster.

There are no credit checks and they do not charge interest so you will only have to pay back what you borrow. It can take up to a couple of days so as soon as you start experiencing a crisis, you need to get down to your local Jobcentre Plus and speak with a representative.

You usually have up to 2 years to pay the loan back and it is deducted from your regular benefit payments. You do not need to be on benefits to be eligible to receive this loan.

They decide how much they are able to lend to you and it will depend on your individual circumstances, any savings you may have and whether or not you have borrowed from the Social Fund before.

Crisis Loans from Oakam are slightly different as you do pay interest on the loan. The interest is also quite high but they have more relaxed lending terms. You are still only able to apply for the loan if you are suffering from an emergency or a disaster. You have up to 6 months to pay this loan back and they carry out a phone application to decide if you are eligible.

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Where can you get a crisis loan from?

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Who can get a crisis loan?

With Directgov:

  • Your immediate needs must be for an emergency or as the result of a disaster
  • You can't have enough money to meet you or your family's immediate short term needs
  • Without the loan there would be serious damage or risk to you or your family's health or safety
  • You must be 16 years of age or older to apply
  • If you are age 16 or over and you've been getting a Community Care Grant but you're moving out an institutional or residential accommodation and can't afford money to pay advance rent to a local non-authority landlord

With Oakam Emergency Loan:

  • Your immediate needs must be for an emergency or as the result of a disaster
  • You can't have enough money to meet you or your family's immediate short term needs
  • You must have a Visa Debit card or a Visa Electron card
  • You must have 3 years address history in the UK
  • You must have an email address and a mobile phone number
  • You must be working or on benefits with £600 going into your account monthly
  • You do not need to have a perfect credit history
  • You must be 18 years of age or older to apply
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Who can't get a crisis loan?

Only applies to Directgov and Department for Work and Pensions

  • If you are a resident in a care home with no plans for discharge within 2 weeks
  • If you are a hospital in-patient not discharging within 2 weeks
  • If you are lawfully detained or on release on temporary licence
  • If you are a member of a religious order being fully maintained by it
  • If you are a person in full-time relevant education
  • If it is for a crisis outside of the UK
  • If it is for an education or training need including clothing and tools
  • If it is for school uniform, sports clothes or sports equipment for school
  • If it is for money to travel to and from school
  • If it is for school meals taken during school holidays
  • If it is for expenses in connection with court (legal) proceedings
  • If it is for removal or storage charges
  • If it is for domestic assistance and respite care
  • If it is for any repair to council property
  • If it is for a medical, surgical, optical, aural or dental item or service
  • If it is for work related expenses
  • If it is fordebts to Government departments
  • If it is for investments
  • If it is for telephone or related costs
  • If it is for mobility needs
  • If it is for holidays
  • If it is for a TV/radio, a licence, aerial or rental charge for a TV/radio
  • If it is for garaging, parking, purchase, and running costs of any motor vehicle except where the payment is being considered for emergency travel expenses
  • If it is for housing costs (other than intermittent costs not met by Housing)
  • If it is for council tax, council water charges, arrears of community charge, collective community charge
  • If it is for contributions or community water charges

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