Updating your Universal Credit journal for April's rent increase
If you're on Universal Credit, you get help with your housing costs. You'll need to update your journal with your new rent amount, or you could lose out on the difference.
If you don't report any changes to Universal Credit correctly when your rent increases from the beginning of April, it could lead to delays in payments and your housing cost element will be underpaid.
Universal Credit will send you a ‘to-do’ on, or after, Monday 1 April that will be personalised to your circumstances.
Just sign-in to your Universal Credit account online* and in your ‘to-do’ list you’ll be able to report changes to your housing costs by answering the questions below.
But please don’t report the changes until you get the ‘to-do’ on your journal and don’t use the ‘change of circumstances’ to-do, to report the annual rent change.
*If you have a phone claim, call Universal Credit on 2 April, to tell them about your rent increase.
Date of change - select 'Yes'
Changes to your rent - select 'Yes' and enter the amount in your rent increase letter
Changes to your service charges - select 'Yes' and enter the amount in your letter
It’s really important that you add up your service charges correctly. You may be asked to accept the charges after we have verified them. Please do this, as your rent will not be paid until you do.
On Housing Benefit?
If you receive Housing Benefit instead of Universal Credit, your benefit will be automatically updated and you do not need to do anything.
