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How much to expect for universal credit?
girllikeme1
Posts: 207 Forumite
I'm trying to help a friend out and struggling to find info on Universal Credit. He is newly out of work and has no assets as he rents.
He has an IVA which they have agreed to pause for a couple of months initially.
What is UC likely to cover? Rent is low but above the LHA as he rents privately. We're trying to come up with a plan and budget but at this stage have no idea where UC might come in and if it's likely not to cover rent it might be worth looking for a cheaper rental immediately (ie looking at a room in a shared house as opposed to current 1 bed studio).
Thanks.
He has an IVA which they have agreed to pause for a couple of months initially.
What is UC likely to cover? Rent is low but above the LHA as he rents privately. We're trying to come up with a plan and budget but at this stage have no idea where UC might come in and if it's likely not to cover rent it might be worth looking for a cheaper rental immediately (ie looking at a room in a shared house as opposed to current 1 bed studio).
Thanks.
0
Comments
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UC will only pay upto the LHA rate. The amount of UC he will receive to cover his needs other than housing will depend on his age (£251.77 per month if he is under 25 years old and £317.82 per month if he is 25 or older - both amounts assume he is claiming as a single person).
He will need to give notice on his current property, so this may delay the point at which he can move to somewhere cheaper.The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.0 -
Thank you. Does UC only cover rent or is there further entitlement for other living costs and if so what might that be? i.e. would it cover council tax, electricity bill, food at all?0
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Council tax reduction isn't part of UC and needs to be claimed separately from the local council.girllikeme1 wrote: »Thank you. Does UC only cover rent or is there further entitlement for other living costs and if so what might that be? i.e. would it cover council tax, electricity bill, food at all?
As advised in post #2 the standard allowance is to cover living costs, how much this will be will depend on his age. (£251.77 per month if he is under 25 years old and £317.82 per month if he is 25 or older - both amounts assume he is claiming as a single person).
The housing element is extra on top of this. Check here to see what he could claim. If he's under 35 then it will be the shared rate, if over 35 then it's the 1 bedroom rate. https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/0 -
Thank you - I now understand what you've put about LHA and the UC rates. Much appreciated.0
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