Universal Credit Rent Query?

SimonSaysWhaaa

Hello

I current receive Universal Credit including my rent which is paid directly to my landlord (Housing Association). 

I receive my UC every month on the 15th and the rent gets credited to my account with the housing association every four weeks on a Friday. 

However, according to the Housing Association there was no rent paid in July. There was a payment on the 16th June and then nothing until the 11th August. The payment I assume should have been made on the 14th July is missing. This has caused me to be almost £400 in arrears and they are hounding me for it. I don't have the money to pay this.

The Housing Association says that this is normal and for one month every year I will have to pay the full rent myself. Universal Credit on the other hand say that they paid the rent in July and this is indeed showing on my July UC statement. 

Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of this? Is one party lying to me? Am I being ripped off? How am I supposed to magic £400 out of thin air? 

HillStreetBlues

How much is your rent?  is it weekly/ monthly?    how much does UC pay every 4 weeks?
Have you sent the HA a copy a statement showing rent was paid on the 14th June?

tacpot12

As you say, the rent that UC pays gets credited to your rent account every 4 weeks, but UC only does this 12 times a year, but there are 13 four week periods in a year, which means that in one period, UC does not make a payment (in your case it is the payment on 14th July that is missed), but they have paid all the rent for the year. Effectively you are building up credit on your account in the first half of the year, and are in arrears in the second half of the year. Your HA should know that this is how UC works, and should not be hounding you. Don't pay any rent yourself! 

Mank a complaint to the CEO of the HA if the staff continue to harrass you.