HA Rent Arrears Could Rise By £330m After Universal Credit Switchover

 Rent arrears among housing association tenants in England could rise by £330m after the switchover from legacy benefits to Universal Credit is complete, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has warned. A survey of housing associations found that the number of tenants claiming Universal Credit for help with their rent costs increased by 83% between June 2019 and September 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. The increase means households claiming Universal Credit accounted for 28% of all occupied general needs homes owned by housing associations as of September last year. Of these, 60% had fallen behind on rent compared with 36% paying by other means including housing benefit. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/housing-association-rent-arrears-could-rise-by-330m-after-universal-credit-switchover-nhf-warns-70420?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60