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Figures suggest Universal Credit is driving homelessness and evictions
Households relying on Universal Credit may be more than twice as likely to become homeless or evicted from social housing as those on the old benefit system, an Inside Housing investigation has found.
Using Freedom of Information Act laws, we obtained figures about numbers of people presenting to their councils as homeless while claiming Universal Credit or housing benefit – one of the six benefits replaced by the government’s flagship welfare reform programme.
Among 42 councils which provided data, nearly 5,000 households have declared themselves homeless while claiming Universal Credit since April – out of 168,600 total Universal Credit households across these areas.
That equates to around one in 34 households on Universal Credit becoming homeless.
By comparison, a separate set of 31 local authorities said 3,600 households claiming housing benefit presented as homeless over the same period, out of 283,500 in total – approximately one in 79.
The figures are only rough snapshots, and cover different local authority areas, but they highlight for the first time a link between Universal Credit and homelessness.
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Inside Housing also gathered information from local authorities with retained housing stock about evictions.
Across 38 council landlords with a combined 47,473 tenants claiming Universal Credit, 459 have been evicted in the past three years – a ratio of one in 103.
Over the same period, another 39 authorities have evicted 607 households using housing benefit to pay the rent, out of 147,478 in total – a much smaller ratio of one in 243 which suggests council tenants on Universal Credit are more than twice as likely to be evicted as those using the legacy welfare system.
Experts said people with new claims that are disputed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can be made to wait weeks for their first payment, as they are not eligible for advance loans.
Low benefit levels – which have been frozen since 2016 – and Universal Credit’s monthly single payment system mean these people may then struggle to make ends meet and pay off debts accrued while waiting for their first cheque.
Inside Housing’s research also showed a sharp rise in the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) to help claimants of Universal Credit.
DHPs are funds allocated to town halls by government to provide financial support for people whose benefits do not cover their rent.
Figures from 87 different councils showed they are spending increasing proportions of their DHPs on Universal Credit – 34% so far in 2018/19, up from 20% in 2017/18 and 7% in 2016/17.
A spokesperson for the DWP said: “We do not recognise these figures. Evictions are a matter between tenants and landlords and can occur for a wide range of reasons.
“Everyone deserves a safe and secure home and with Universal Credit housing costs can be paid directly to landlords if requested.
“We are rolling out the social landlord portal to support vulnerable claimants and since 2011 we have also provided around £1bn in Discretionary Housing Payments.”
More on Universal Credit
A rock and a hard place: the Universal Credit frontline Universal Credit was meant to simplify the welfare system and give people control over their finances. But in one London borough,Gavriel Hollander finds the reality is very different.
Universal Credit: how we got here Inside Housing's Pete Apps traces the history of the government's flagship welfare reform
Starting to bite: how Universal Credit is making people homeless For the first time, Inside Housing has uncovered figures which suggest Universal Credit is making people homeless
Universal Credit needs universal co-operation As cracks in the consensus that Universal Credit is beneficial to claimants appear, the Department for Work and Pensions must co-operate with all partners to ensure the policy is a success, writes Eamon McGoldrick
Ministers need to open their eyes to the impact of Universal Credit Inside Housing editor Emma Maier calls for ministers to take notice of the problems affecting the government's key welfare reform
Universal Credit problems are much wider than just administrative issues As the full Universal Credit service rolls out to all postcode areas, Sam Lister outlines ways the policy could be improved
Inside Housing Spotlight
Inside Housing Spotlight is a series of pieces showcasing the best of our investigative and data journalism.
Spotlight pieces:
14 December 2018: Starting to bite - how Universal Credit is making people homeless: we reveal new figures showing a clear link between Universal Credit and homelessness
9 November 2018: First Priority - the inside story of a housing association which almost went bust When a small supported housing provider entered into a series of leasing deals with investment funds, it nearly spelled disaster for its vulnerable tenants. We investigate why.
12 October 2018: The ballad of Knowsley Housing Trust the inside story of the first housing association made non-compliant by the sector's watchdog for fire safety issues
13 September 2018: How tweaked building guidance led to combustible insulation on high rises: an investigation shows how lobbyists from the plastic insulation industry supported a quiet tweak to building guidance to permit combustible insulation on tall buildings
31 August 2018: The true cost of homelessness Freedom of Information requests reveal the soaring costs of temporary accommodation
30 August 2018: The forgotten threat to high rise tenants We investigate the threat posed by combustible window panels on social housing high rises
13 June 2018: The Biggest Ever Survey of Fire Risk Assessments Data journalism revealing widespread fire safety issues in more than 1,500 tower blocks across the country
12 April 2018: A Section 106 Story An investigation into allegations of "sham transactions" involving Section 106 deals in south London
23 March 2018: The Paper Trail: The Failure of Building Regulations A lengthy investigation into the failures of building regulation that may have contributed to the Grenfell Tower disaster, and the many missed warnings
23 February 2018: The Kingspan Papers Leaked meeting notes reveal some worrying issues, including allegations of fire safety report doctoring by manufacturers
9 February 2018: Gentoo: a Sunderland story We look back at the recent history of Sunderland’s largest housing association.
25 January 2018: Homeless families face long stays in council-owned hostels we reveal how councils in London are skirting the law by using hostels to house people in temporary accommodation for more than six weeks
7 December 2017: Council house to private rent We reveal the percentage of former Right to Buy homes in the private rented sector has passed 40%
17 November 2017: Rent to buy, or rent to rent? A look at how successful the government's Rent to Buy schemes have been
7 September 2017: Once upon a time in the west The history of KCTMO in the years before the Grenfell Tower fire
11 August: 2017 Grenfell: The paper trail - our news editor Pete Apps examines seven years of council documents to tell a story of the missed opportunites to prevent the Grenfell tragedy
4 August 2017 : Knowing the risks – the most common fire safety problems in tower blocks
26 May 2017: Rents hiked for RTB replacements – Sophie Barnes reveals less than half of Right to Buy replacement homes are for social rent
12 May 2017: A stark warning – a prescient piece looking at lessons to be learned from the Shepherds Bush tower block fire
13 April 2017: Where the axe will fall – a look at plans to axe housing benefit for younger people
10 Feb 2017: Circle of Despair – the inside story of Circle's repairs and maintenance troubles
3 Feb 2017: The Benefit Cap Tightrope – Sophie Barnes unveils the first exclusive analysis of the lower benefit cap
