Updating your Universal Credit journal for April's rent increase
If you're on Universal Credit, you get help with your housing costs. You'll need to update your journal with your new rent amount, or you could lose out on the difference.
If you’re a Nottingham City Council or Nottingham City Homes Registered Provider tenant your new rent amount is included on the rent increase notification letter that you'll receive in March. Keep the letter safe as you’ll need it in April.
If you don't report any changes to Universal Credit correctly when your rent increases from the beginning of April, it could lead to delays in payments and your housing cost element will be underpaid.
Universal Credit will send you a ‘to-do’ on, or after, Tuesday 1 April called 'confirm your housing cost'. Please do not complete this until Monday 7 April (unless you're an NCH RP tenant, in which case you can complete this on Tuesday 1 April).
If you're an NCH Ltd tenant, please look at your rent increase letter for information on how to report your rent increase. that will be personalised to your circumstances.
If you're not sure of the type of tenancy you have, your rent increase letter will tell you.
Please don’t report the changes until you get the ‘to-do’ on your journal and don’t use the ‘change of circumstances’ to-do, to report the annual rent change.
*If you have a phone claim, call Universal Credit on or after Monday 7 April, to tell them about your rent increase.
These are the steps you need to follow if reporting online:
Date of change
Select 'No' if a Nottingham City Council tenant and click 'Continue'. You'll be taken to a screen that will ask you what date your housing costs change - put 7 April
Changes to your rent
Select 'Yes' and enter the amount in your letter
Changes to your service charges
Select 'Yes' and enter the amount in your letter.
It’s really important that you add up your service charges correctly. You may be asked to accept the charges after we have verified them. Please do this, as your rent will not be paid until you do.
On Housing Benefit?
If you receive Housing Benefit instead of Universal Credit, your benefit will be automatically updated and you do not need to do anything.
But please be aware that. if you haven't already, you'll soon receive a letter from the Department of Work and Pension about transferring you over to Universal Credit - click here to find out more: Universal Credit migration.
