Cost of living payment and nil award

gizmo1961

DWP have confirmed that even although I am entitled to housing allowance of £324 paid monthly to my local council and not to me I will not be eligible for the cost of living payment

poppy12345

You mean a call centre told you this, not DWP. When ringing UC you're speaking to someone from a call cente,not someone from DWP. One of the last places anyone should go to for advice is the call centre.

calcotti

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payment?mc_cid=d8310461d2&mc_eid=407191570c

Universal Credit
To get the first Cost of Living Payment of £326, you must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022.

You are entitled to a UC payment. Your payment is being made to your landlord but it is still your entitlement. You qualify.

Universal Credit ‘nil awards’
You will not be eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if your earnings reduced your Universal Credit to £0 for the qualifying assessment period. This is sometimes called a ‘nil award’. If money has also been taken off for other reasons (such as payments of rent to your landlord or for money that you owe), you might still be eligible.

poppy12345

Someone just commented on a thread that also has a nil award because their rent is paid direct to their landlord. They received the CoL payment today. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79340014#Comment_79340014

Furzeguy

Thanks ... It is a great relief!