Universal Credit: Direct Rent Payments 'More Effective For Curbing Arrears'

Direct rent payments for tenants on Universal Credit have been more effective at keeping them out of arrears than government reforms introduced last year, new research has suggested. A report carried out for Southwark Council by The Smith Institute showed that tenants who joined the new benefit system in 2018 had much smaller arrears than those who switched over in 2016 – owing less than two weeks’ rent on average as opposed to six. But researchers concluded that this was down to Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) being agreed with the 2018 group after only four weeks on average, compared with 58 weeks for the 2016 group. Download a copy of the report – Safe as Houses 3 – from the Smith Institute website.

https://omghcontent.affino.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/128/Safe_As_Houses_3_2019_v2.pdf