200,000 people will be hit by new universal credit rules
- 05 Mar
New fears have arisen over increased tenant rent arrears after a new universal credit rule which could leave 200,000 claimants waiting six months for their benefits.
Social landlords believe that new regulations are likely to lead to increased hardship and evictions, reports Inside Housing.
Whilst current universal credit calculations take into account the amount of money a claimant earns a month, the new rules will look into the earnings of the claimant over the previous six months. This will mean that if a person earns a larger amount in one month, but nothing the following month, they will be unable to claim universal credit for up to six months. The change will however only apply to people making repeated claims within six months of a previous claim ending.
The changes will come into effect from the 6th April 2016 and it's expected to hit 200,000 universal credit claimants. The change will mean that claimants who receive an irregular income will then have to plan and set aside savings for when they're not in work as they won't be able to fall back on benefits.
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