Housing costs

For people who rent, the amount for housing costs is worked out in a similar way to the support provided by Housing Benefit. However, the payments are made directly to the claimant as part of UC, rather than to the landlord, to encourage people to manage their own budgets (see Chapter 1 for more information). 


In January 2017, the national body representing arms-length management organisations (NFA) and the Association of Retained Council Housing reported that the problems experienced by UC claimants had “dramatically worsened”. A snapshot of arrears at the end of September 2016 showed that 86% of UC claimants living in council-owned homes were in rent arrears and the average value of arrears had almost doubled to £615 since the end of March 2016 when the average was £321.


NFA chair Hugh Broadbent said that unacceptable waiting times and errors in processing claims were causing significant financial hardship and that there was a reported increased presence of loan sharks in local communities, charging exorbitant rates of interest and exacerbating the problem.


From April 2017, single people aged 18-21 lose their entitlement to support with housing costs (although there are some exceptions). New claimants in this age group are no longer entitled to the housing element of UC unless they have children or would be at serious risk if they continued to live with their parents, for example. Housing charities have warned that the move will lead to many more young people sleeping rough.