Council warns tenants on Universal Credit to beware of 53rd week in calendar

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

A council is planning to set up a “rent hardship grant” for its housing tenants, in anticipation of a calendar headache for Universal Credit claimants.

At odds with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Caerphilly County Borough Council claims the current financial year contains 53 weeks, as opposed to 52 in a normal year.

The unusual situation means some council house tenants could end up having to stump up an extra week’s rent of around £100.

According to a council report, Universal Credit will not cover the extra week of rent payments, meaning tenants who receive that benefit will have to pay for the extra week themselves.

This is because Universal Credit is a monthly payment, and that system does not become flexible in a 53-week year.

“Challenges”

Cllr Shayne Cook, the cabinet member for housing, said a “mismatch between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit cycles presents significant challenges” for tenants.

The DWP, which manages the Universal Credit system, challenges claims this year contains a 53rd week.

It also disputes the criticism of its model, and says monthly payments are made to reflect how most people receive their wages.

But the council maintains an estimated 3,514 council house tenants in Caerphilly will end up having to fork out for the extra week because their Universal Credit payments will not cover the costs.

To cushion the blow for those tenants, the council is in the early stages of preparing a hardship grant that is “specifically designed to cover the rent for this additional week”.

A payment would cover the exact amount of one week’s rent and would involve tenants completing a “simple application process”.

It is hoped the grant, if set up, will “provide much needed financial stability for Universal Credit claimants and benefit vulnerable contract holders”.

At a meeting of the council’s housing committee, on Tuesday September 17, Cllr Cook described the inflexibility of the Universal Credit system as “flawed” and said a hardship grant would help tenants “overcome” the need to pay the extra week’s rent.

Speaking later to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Cllr Cook added: “The hardship grant will fund the week 53 payment for Universal Credit claimants in social housing and will protect vulnerable contract holders from falling into rent arrears due to an inequality in the current benefits system.

“I’m happy that Caerphilly Homes can step in and implement this hardship grant which can directly overcome the adverse impact of the flawed Universal Credit benefit regime.”

Funding for the grant will likely come from the council’s own housing reserves.

Any money left over will be kept back to supplement the grant should the same issues arise next time there is a 53-week year, the committee was told.

A council officer added that the current system of Universal Credit payments was “not expected” to change, because the DWP – which issues benefits – had previously been backed in the courts on the matter.

“Mirror the world of work”

Following the meeting, a DWP spokesperson said: “No calendar year has 53 weeks, and the calculation for payments we use for claimants paying their rent weekly has been confirmed by the High Court.

“Universal Credit is designed to mirror the world of work, with calendar monthly calculations and payments made to reflect how most people receive their wages.

“This helps claimants take responsibility for budgeting their money – helping them prepare for a return to work – and reflects the fact that many people on Universal Credit are already in work and receiving a monthly wage.”

The council’s cabinet members are expected to debate the proposed hardship grant project on October 16.

Council tenants who pay rent via Housing Benefit will not be affected by the 53-week dispute, because that benefit is calculated weekly instead of monthly.