Universal credit - moving town

moneysaveya

Hi guys, hope you are all keeping well  and getting through this tough old time.

i had a question regarding my universal credit. Last month I got my first payment. Made up of standard allowance ( single and over 25) as well as an amount for housing benefit. I currently live in London but due to mental health and worries I am looking , once safe to, to moving to a quieter area. 

how would this affect my benefits ? Would I still get a certain amount or do I need to go through the sign up all over again?

potentially I would move straight to a new flat (if they accept housing). Or I may stay at a friends for the first while.

tomtom256

Just declare the change of circs and the system will do the rest. If you rent, you declare your new costs and provide evidence and the system pays you whatever your entitled to.

calcotti

moneysaveya said: i had a question regarding my universal credit. Last month I got my first payment. Made up of standard allowance ( single and over 25) as well as an amount for housing benefit. I currently live in London but due to mental health and worries I am looking , once safe to, to moving to a quieter area. 

how would this affect my benefits? 

The only bit that would change is the housing element (it isn't housing benefit) because it depends on where you live.

Margaret_100

Once you know where you are moving to you can check the Local Housing Allowance ( LHA) for the area on the council web site which would give you an idea of the maximum amount you could receive in the housing element of UC. As you are single and under 35 you would be eligible for the ‘shared room rate’. This rule will apply to you now but the LHA is likely to be considerably higher in London than in a ‘quieter area’.

calcotti

Margaret_100 said: As you are single and under 35 you would be eligible for the ‘shared room rate’. 

OP says they are over 25, can’t see that they say they are under 35.
All LHAs can be looked up here https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/