This month, hundreds of thousands of people will no longer receive Housing Benefit payments. The DWP is scrapping the benefit, which was received by roughly 2.4 million Britons.
DWP to End Housing Benefit Payments for Thousands as Universal Credit Takes Over
Housing Benefit is one of the several benefits that are being substituted by Universal Credit (UC). Claimants have also been reminded that their benefits will end three months after receiving a migration notice in the mail, according to BirminghamLive.
For numerous people this will have happened in June, which means their benefits will end in September. These individuals have been warned that they should have submitted applications for Universal Credit, and that if they haven't yet, they should do so right away, or their benefits will be cut off.
Those who weren't given migration notices have been advised not to take any action at this time. However, it is critical that individuals check their posts and emails in case they failed to see it.
This constitutes the most significant upgrade of the benefits system in years. Housing Benefit among six benefits received by millions that will be taken out in exchange of Universal Credit.
Claimants Urged to Apply for Universal Credit or Risk Losing Legacy Benefits
The transfer of claimants will not happen automatically; instead, they must submit an application for the new benefit, which over 280,000 individuals have failed to do in recent years, accounting for roughly a quarter of the total. They have three months to resolve the issue, or their payments would be discontinued.
The following legacy benefits will be phased out:
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment
- Support Allowance
The Government states: "You need to move to Universal Credit if you’ve received a Migration Notice letter, as one or more of your benefits will be ending soon.
"To continue receiving financial support you must claim Universal Credit by the deadline date given in your letter. This is three months from the date the letter was sent out."