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Date set for 18-21s housing benefit ban reversal
The ban on housing benefit for 18 to 21-year-olds will be scrapped at the end of the year.
Amendments to the regulations on Universal Credit published this week reveal that previous rules preventing 18 to 21-year-olds from claiming housing costs will be revoked from 31 December.
New Universal Credit claimants aged 18 to 21 were previously denied from accessing the system’s housing costs element automatically.
However, work and pensions secretary Esther McVey announced in March that this policy would be dropped.
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Homelessness charities and housing organisations including Crisis and the Chartered Institute of Housing had condemned the restrictions on claimants between 18 and 21.
A raft of exemptions to the controversial policy capturing people with children, carers or those unable to live at home with their parents meant that only a small minority of 18 to 21-year-olds were actually blocked from claiming housing costs through Universal Credit.
Campaigners argued that this meant the policy would not deliver the £65m in savings estimated by government to the end of 2019/20.
Last year Inside Housing exclusively obtained a government impact assessment before the policy was introduced that revealed the government expected the policy to affect 11,000 18 to 21-year- olds by 2020/21.
Further research by Inside Housing also revealed the policy would overwhelmingly impact poorer areas.
Minister for families, supported housing and child maintenance Justin Tomlinson said: “We are committed to providing vulnerable young people with targeted support so that everyone is given the very best chance of getting into work.
“We want to remove barriers for young people in accessing housing and getting a job, and this change will assure them that if they secure a tenancy they will be entitled to receive support.”
Update: at 12.30pm 07/11/18 a quote from Mr Tomlinson was added to the story.
