You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Government to align rent payments to landlords with Universal Credit payment dates
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed in principle to pay landlords the housing cost of Universal Credit at the same time as tenants receive the remainder of the benefit, in a move that could save housing associations thousands of hours in administrative work.
The DWP has agreed in principle to pay landlords the housing cost of Universal Credit at the same time as tenants receive the remainder of the benefit #ukhousingThe DWP has started a “small-scale test” where the payment of a Universal Credit claimant’s managed payment go to landlords at the same time the claimant is paid their benefits #ukhousingIn a letter to landlords, the DWP confirmed that it has now started a “small-scale test” that will see the payment of a claimant’s ‘managed payment’ go to landlords at the same time the claimant is paid their Universal Credit payment. If successful, this new system will be rolled out to all social landlords in early 2020.
A managed payment is when the housing cost element of Universal Credit is paid directly to a landlord, usually if tenants are having difficulties paying their rent.
The change to these payments comes after a number of years of lobbying by social housing sector bodies, which have complained that paying landlords directly at different times to claimants has led to confusion for tenants and landlords.
Currently, Universal Credit is paid to claimants on a monthly cycle, while the housing costs are paid to landlords every four weeks. Sector figures have told Inside Housing that this discrepancy makes housing cost payments difficult to monitor, and housing cost payments are often received well after Universal Credit benefit payments.
Read more
It can often lead to housing associations and other landlords spending a lot of time chasing up the status of payments.
A campaign by the UK’s major national housing bodies launched in March laid out six ways the government could fix Universal Credit flaws. Ensuring that landlords receive payments on the same cycle as their tenants was one of those asks.
The DWP’s letter – signed by Neil Couling, senior responsible owner for Universal Credit at the DWP – confirmed the change.
He wrote: “One of the key things landlords have told us is that receiving your payment at the same time your tenant receives theirs, and being able to access a schedule of payments on the landlord portal, would greatly improve your ability to mange payments and reconcile UC housing costs.
“As a result, I’m pleased to let you know this week, we have started a small-scale test with a small group of social landlords to align the way that we pay managed payments to landlords with a claimant’s assess period.
“This means you will receive the housing cost element at the same time as your tenant receives their UC payment.”
As part of the changes, social landlords will also now receive a daily schedule of their tenants’ housing cost payments through the government’s landlord portal.
The news has been welcomed by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA).
Sue Ramsden, policy leader at the NHF, said: “This change is welcome news and a good example of social landlords and DWP working together to find effective solutions. A new system of direct payments will make it much easier for landlords to keep track of rent payments, saving them a great deal of time and resource. We look forward to the roll-out of the new system in early 2020.”
Sally Thomas, chief executive of the SFHA, said: “The delay in receiving direct payments and the lack of information on the landlord portal have been major concerns that have been highlighted by our members.
“These changes were top of the Six Asks campaign we have been running with our fellow UK housing federations, so this is certainly good news for our members and their tenants.
“However, we still believe the system of Universal Credit remains inherently flawed and will continue to campaign for fundamental changes, not least the initial five-week wait and the four-year benefit freeze that have caused some tenants to be pushed further into poverty.”
Welfare delivery minister Will Quince said: “Landlords give us valuable insight about people’s experience as they move onto Universal Credit, which helps us to improve the system for tenants and property owners across the sector.”
Update: at 12.09pm 18/12/19 a comment from the welfare delivery minister was added to the story.
Related stories
