Universal Credit And Rent Arrears

The DWP has recently introduced changes to Universal Credit entitlements to help with housing costs, which may reduce rent arrears. The key changes are:

·         Any claim from 14 February 2018 will not serve waiting days so tenants should all receive money after five rather than six weeks.

·         Housing Benefit run-on is to start from 11 April – anyone already receiving Housing Benefit who transfers onto Universal Credit will receive an extra two weeks' pay to help with rent over the first Universal Credit assessment period.

Read more on the NHF website.

https://www.housing.org.uk/latest-updates/universal-credit-and-rent-arrears/

Universal Credit: Rollout Speeds Up But Leaves Problems In Its Wake

A parliamentary committee has re-launched an inquiry into Universal Credit after receiving evidence of the problems encountered by tenants from councils. Here are two of the problems that need addressing urgently:

1.Rising arrears are putting landlords off - The main council housing bodies say 85% of tenants they surveyed on UC are in arrears compared to 39% of tenants overall.

2.UC does not work for all types of housing - Some problems are due to design – such as the waiting days rule, where households have to wait seven days before they are eligible for benefits. Some are unintended, such as the delays and administrative errors in issuing direct payments to landlords for tenants who struggle to pay their rent. Other issues are due to UC being inherently problematic for accommodation for homeless families. UC is not designed for temporary accommodation, but the DWP has insisted that homeless families should still claim housing support through UC. Read more on the Shelter blog.

Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen Timms:  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse in each of the next five years arising from the implementation of the Universal Credit (Waiting Days)(Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Priti Patel: The principle behind the waiting days is that benefits are not designed to provide cover for brief spells of unemployment. We expect savings of around £150m per annum which will be used to fund measures to get people off benefit and into work and will particularly help those who are likely to be long­ term benefit recipients.