Your Universal Credit payment might include a ‘housing costs’ element to help towards the cost of your rent. In England and Wales, you’ll be responsible for paying your rent directly to your landlord.

Paying your rent if you’ve been getting Housing Benefit

In England and Wales

Rather than having Housing Benefit paid directly to your landlord, your Universal Credit payment will include the money for your rent. This means you’ll need to arrange to pay it yourself.

Universal Credit is paid monthly in arrears. If your payment date is different from the date you would usually pay your rent, speak to your landlord.

If you struggle to manage your money, or you’re vulnerable, you can ask for an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA). This will mean your rent is either:

• paid directly to your landlord, or
• paid to you weekly or fortnightly as a More Frequent Payment (MFP).

In Scotland

After you get your first Universal Credit payment, you can choose to have your housing costs paid directly to your landlord or carry on paying them yourself.

In Northern Ireland

If you’re claiming Universal Credit in Northern Ireland, your housing costs will automatically be paid to your landlord. However, you can still choose to pay your landlord yourself if you want.

How much rent will Universal Credit pay?

The housing element of Universal Credit is designed to cover some or all your rent and any service charges on the property. How much you get depends on whether you’re a private or social tenant.

If you rent privately

If you rent privately, your housing costs are based on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) for your area. This is at least 30% of market rents for private renters in your area.

The number of people who live in your home and the number of bedrooms is also important. If you have any spare bedrooms, you’ll only get housing costs to cover a smaller property. For example, if you’re single, aged over 35 and have no dependent children, the LHA will be based on the cost of renting a one bedroom flat locally.

If you live in social housing

If you pay rent to a local authority, council or housing association, you’ll get your full rent as part of your Universal Credit payment.

However, this is reduced if it’s decided you have more bedrooms than you need.

Claiming Universal Credit for the first time

If you’re making a new Universal Credit claim, it takes five weeks to get your first payment. It’s a good idea to tell your landlord so they're aware of your situation.

If you’re worried about how you’ll pay the rent, it’s important to talk to them about what you can do until you get your first payment.

If you’re living in social housing, many housing associations and councils offer support to help you work out how to pay your rent on Universal Credit. It can be worth talking to them if you’re worried about how you’ll manage. Sorting this out early can help you avoid falling behind on your rent.

Make rent your top priority

There are a few things you can do to make paying your rent easier. Choose what works best for you. Here are a few tips.

Move the day your rent is paid

Ask your landlord if it’s possible to move the day your rent is due closer to your Universal Credit payment day. Some will let you do this.

Set up a standing order or Direct Debit

When you’ve had your first Universal Credit payment and you know what day it will be paid, set up a standing order or a Direct Debit for your rent payment.

That way, as soon as the money comes in, the rent goes straight out again.

Open a separate account just for your rent

Then set up a standing order so that as soon as your Universal Credit payment goes into your main account, your rent goes out to the separate account. It will sit there until rent day.

Use a prepaid card

Use this for your spending money and leave the money for your rent, and other bills, in your bank account. Be aware that you’ll be charged fees for using a prepaid card.

If you know you’ll be tempted to use your rent money for other things, try to come up with an arrangement where you don’t have access to it. For example, by asking someone else to look after it for you.

For more information & where to find help, please click here.