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Universal Credit hints and tips to help stay afloat

If you’re struggling with your rent payments, or are worried about how Universal Credit will affect you, we’re here to help you stay afloat.

If you move from Housing Benefit to Universal Credit, your Housing Benefit will continue to be paid for two weeks after you claim Universal Credit.

This extra two weeks of Housing Benefit is to help with your rent whilst you wait for your first payment of Universal Credit. You do not need to pay it back and it won’t affect how much Universal Credit you get.

If you need help to make your claim to Universal Credit, you can use the Citizens Advice free ‘Help to Claim’ service. This will support you in the early stages of your claim, from the application through to your first payment.

When you first claim Universal Credit you can also ask for an Advance Payment to help with household expenses, bills and rent. This does have to be repaid and will be deducted monthly from your ongoing Universal Credit payments. Jobcentre Plus will offer you more advice about this when you first claim Universal Credit.

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