If you receive Universal Credit, (UC) or Housing Benefit (HB) you’ll need to let the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) know that your rent has increased, or you might end up paying the incorrect rent or have your UC or HB stopped altogether.
If you receive Housing Benefit, you need to tell them about any rent increases right away, by contacting the benefits department at your local council.
For Universal Credit you have to wait until the actual date of the rent increase that’s stated in the rent notice letter we send you.
Increase your Universal Credit to match your new rent
To notify UC about your rent changes, you need to sign into your online account, and update your housing costs. All the information you’ll need is in the letter we sent to you in February. If you don’t have an online account, call the UC helpline on 0800 328 5644. Remember to have your rent letter to hand.
When?
Do this on the day your rent changes, which is Monday 1st April 2024.
How?
Log into your UC online account. When you’re signed in, you may see a new notification on your ‘To-do-list’. Click on this task link and follow the instructions.
Remember, it’s important to update this so that you don’t fall into rent arrears. It’s our priority to help you remain in your home, but it’s your responsibility to manage your UC.
53 week financial year
There will be 53 Mondays in the 2024/25 financial year, which runs from 1 April 2024 until 1 April 2025, with the last Monday on 31 March 2025.
This happens every five or six years, because there are 365 days in a year or 366 in a leap year, which breaks down to 52 weeks in a year plus 1 day, or in a leap year 52 weeks plus 2 days. These extra days accumulate to add an extra week to the year.
If you pay your rent weekly, there will be an extra week of rent to pay.
This will impact any of our customers who are on a weekly tenancy agreement or licence.
If you are on Housing Benefits (HB, legacy benefits) you will not be impacted by this, as HB will cover this as they pay every week that it is charged.
If you receive Universal Credit, the Department for Work and Pensions will NOT cover the extra week of rent – you will need to pay it.
- Customers on a weekly tenancy or licence will need to pay for 53 weeks (your monthly rent calculation is weekly current rent X 53 weeks ÷ 12 months equals your monthly current rent).
The DWP only pay up to 52 weeks of rent per year and works out the weekly rent for those on Universal Credit by taking the total yearly amount and dividing it by 52 weeks. For example, £10,400 per year / 52 weeks = £200pw rent.
Unfortunately, they have confirmed that they won’t pay for the 53rd week. This means you will need to pay for the additional week yourself.
To lessen the impact, we recommend you pay a little bit each week over the year.
For example, if you pay £200 a week for your rent, you could divide this by 53 weeks and pay £3.78 a week for 53 weeks.
If you’re not sure what to do, please call us on 01452 833217 or email income@gch.co.uk so we can help you with the options.
- If you pay your rent every four weeks, you will need to multiply your weekly rent by 53 then divide it over 13 payments. E.g £200 weekly rent x 53 = £10,600 / 13 = £815.38 rent payment .every four weeks
If you pay by standing order every four weeks
- You’ll need to change the amount you pay through your bank at the beginning of the new financial year if you want to split the costs of 13 payments.
If you pay by Direct Debit
- We will adjust your payments and let you know how much they will be.
If you pay through MyGCH every four weeks
- You’ll need to change the amount you pay at the beginning of the new financial year by splitting the costs over 13 payments.
Get in touch...
If you’re not sure what to do or you’re worried you can’t pay your rent, we can provide expert support and guidance. The earlier you tell us you need help, the easier it is for us to provide assistance.
To speak to one of our friendly Tenancy Sustainment Advisors call us on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between 10.00am and 4:00pm and Wednesdays between 11:00am and 4:00pm.
