Housing Benefit rules change allows people to keep more earnings

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 11 Oct, 05:13 · Archive

More than 325,000 people in supported housing and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of their earnings under new Housing Benefit rules that came into force on October 5.

More than 325,000 people living in supported housing and temporary accommodation can now keep more of what they earn under new Housing Benefit rules that came into force on October 5. The change removes a benefits 'cliff edge' that could leave people worse off when they took on more work or increased their hours.

The change affects working-age Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing and temporary accommodation. It is designed to bring the way their Housing Benefit is calculated more closely into line with Universal Credit.

Under the previous system, people received help with living costs through Universal Credit while their rent support was paid separately through Housing Benefit. However, the two benefits used different rules when calculating how much someone could earn before their support fell. For Housing Benefit recipients, those rules were less generous than under Universal Credit.

This meant that when residents moved into work or increased their hours, their Housing Benefit could be reduced more quickly than their earnings increased. In some cases, the extra money earned from working was partly swallowed up by the loss of housing support.

The Government says this created a barrier to work that could leave people trapped on benefits. The new rules align the treatment of Housing Benefit more closely with Universal Credit, removing this disincentive. Almost 50,000 young people are among those expected to benefit from the change.

How it is being reported

• DWP Universal Credit and Housing Benefit major rules change announcedMore than 325,000 people living in supported housing and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of what they earn under a major change to Housing Benefit rules.This Is Wiltshire · 11 Oct, 04:49
• DWP Universal Credit and Housing Benefit major rules change announcedMore than 325,000 people living in supported housing and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of what they earn under a major change to Housing Benefit rules.Swindon Advertiser · 11 Oct, 04:49
• DWP Universal Credit and Housing Benefit major rules change announcedMore than 325,000 people living in supported housing and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of what they earn under a major change to Housing Benefit rules.Wiltshire Times · 11 Oct, 04:49
• DWP Universal Credit and Housing Benefit major rules change announcedMore than 325,000 people living in supported housing and temporary accommodation will be able to keep more of what they earn under a major change to Housing Benefit rules.Gazette & Herald · 11 Oct, 04:49

In this story: Department for Work and Pensions

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