More people are missing rent payments in Brighton and Hove after moving from employment support allowance to universal credit.
Brighton and Hove City Council is offering extra support to those people, saying that many are vulnerable and find the switch challenging.
In the first quarter of 2025-26, 490 tenants switched to universal credit, which includes housing benefit, compared with 900 during the whole of the 2024-25 financial year.
At a housing management panel meeting, the council’s head of tenancy services Justine Harris said: “What that means is people’s accounts automatically go into arrears.”
On Wednesday (18 September), she told the meeting for Hove and Portslade tenants and leaseholders: “There’s lots of support. We are trying to help people with that.”
The council’s director of housing people services Harry Williams said that people receiving employment support allowance had usually been too unwell to work.
This made the situation more challenging than previous migrations to universal credit because people needed extra support.
Mr Williams said: “We would really encourage (tenants reps) who know anyone who is worried about their rent, or if they receive a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions about moving over from employment support allowance to universal credit, to get in touch with us so we can support them through that journey.
“We don’t just call people and ask them to pay their rent. We provide a lot of signposting. We’re out in the community providing homes visits where we can refer for money advice so they can get wider support around not only rent but council tax and utilities.
“We can help people get personal dependence payments, a disability benefit. For people who are really struggling to move over, we will go with them to their job centre meetings.”
The move from one benefit to another has led to six-week gaps in payments, leaving people struggling, the meeting was told. The council has provided help for those affected to access food banks.
The council’s quarterly housing performance report showed that 92.4 per cent of rents due had been collected, down from 93.1 per cent in the previous quarter and a target of more than 95 per cent.
If the rate remained the same for the whole financial year, the council would collect £70.4 million of the £76.2 million due, leaving the council almost £6 million short, up from £5 million last year.
It’s an important income source, but it is good that they are supporting people with the switch. The worst thing people can do is bit quiet about it.
It’s been a fiasco, I know a disabled person who was switched over earlier this year and had to spend £2k of savings to cover a period without any income. They have still not recovered their equilibrium and remain out of pocket despite requesting reviews.
An eight-week gap between required funding is not acceptable. I hope they are being backdated, at the very least. Requesting reviews will likely slow down the process further, best to get the switch done as quickly as possible.
god forbid one would have to support themselves for a short period…..
To be fair, they have also clarified it’s more in the region of six months, that’s a long time for anyone, especially considering the norm is to not have any savings, living from paycheck to paycheck.
There is funding in place to cover the gap albeit on a loan payback basis, obviously people should not starve because the system is out of sync with reality
Or more accurately, an inefficiency of a department.
It would be easier if was same as migrants where labour just pay direct and you don’t need to worry about it. Ahhh
Housing benefits can be set up to go straight to the landlord, yes, that is a thing that can be done, Leanne! I’d argue that should be the default. Can’t mismanage money you never get your hands on, which happens a lot in certain demographics.
Another nutty idea from Starmer harmer which is causing more harm than good and taking money away from those who need it most. Bring on a Vote of No Confidence and an early General Election.
Err, actually this was not a “nutty idea from Starmer.” This was an attempt by the previous administrations to streamline the various benefits system. However, I understand that ESA and UC are run on separate, incompatible systems leading to the dragging out of the transition. It is clearly underfunded and ill-thought out. Benjamin, forgive me for being presumptive but I feel that you have little current experience of navigating or being reliant on the benefits system. Having paid in an awful lot over many years, my friend had a level of expectation but still hasn’t received their dues after 6 months. It seems that if one decision-maker makes a judgement, another disagrees and overturns it. This has resulted in the need to go to a tribunal where there is a high likelihood of success. My friend has lost the amenity of their money and undergoing a lot of stress and bother. This is injurious to their health and mental health and also costing the public purse a great deal of time and expense. Exactly the opposite of the intended aims to reduce cost.
I’ve been fortunate enough not to need to be reliant on benefits for most of my life, but I’ve been involved in supporting people navigating it. The frustration you describe with your friend is not unfamiliar to me, particularly when there is a difference of opinion institutionally. I once supported someone who had a unilateral lower-limb amputation. They had their benefits stopped until a re-verification could be conducted.
Nope, the leg still hasn’t grown back yet!
Benji
Unbelievable. Stop using your AI to answer everyone who posts on b&h
Get your own thoughts . And leave the bus stop alone x
Such a shame. I hope they practice mindfulness during rough times. We need to be mindful of mindfulness. Maybe time for the Greens. They supper housing and migrants. Peace and love
We are £800 a month worse off since moving over to Universal Credit. All our rent used to be covered and council tax. Now we have to find all the rent each month and £200 council tax a year. This cannot be right? But despite trying to get this sorted everyone said its right under the new rules. Both disabled and unable to work
It’s worth going to Citizens Advice and seeing what they can do to support.
CAB is a waste of time!
I get the distinct impression that they are dealing with asylum seekers applications as you just can’t never get an appointment!
The ordinary folk are completely on their own with every advice organisation completely abandoning people to their fate!
They really aren’t.
They pay you money to pay your rent and some council tax, only pay landlord/council direct if you ask
Sooner or later this country is going to explode!
And well walk straight into a Trump backed Mini-me Farage dictatorship!
You think things are bad now?
You wait when Farage gets anywhere near government?
Today”s country will look like paradise if Fagage is Prime Minister!
You can kiss goodbye to the NHS!
Check the link of you don’t believe me!
https://x.com/piyushmittal/status/1965869164460990853?t=S40VHEVn_xXmX7GGg5mc3g&s=19
There is so much support BHCC offers with the transition! People need to speak up and ask for help! Easier said than done but please do it! Ive known them to do home visits, joint visits to the job centre and support after to make sure its all ok!