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Government testing Universal Credit bulk uploads with social landlords after delays
The government is testing a system that allows housing providers to upload information about Universal Credit tenants’ rent changes in bulk with a number of social landlords.
Housing associations were told in February that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would enable them to record rent cost changes in bulk on behalf of tenants claiming the new benefit system from April, but these changes were never put in place.
In a newsletter released last week, the DWP said: “We are currently testing the functionality to bulk upload rent change information with some landlords and will use the outcome of this to inform our next steps. This will include the approach for expanding further to other landlords.
“We will make an announcement when we are in a position to move to a wider roll-out.”
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It would not disclose which landlords are involved in the testing, but told Inside Housing: “Testing began last month with a number of landlords and we are considering plans for further expansion.”
Currently the DWP requires landlords to verify individual tenants’ information changes made through their Universal Credit online journals.
Inside Housing reported last month on warnings from social landlords that they face a huge administrative burden next April unless the issue is resolved.
There are concerns that many tenants do not know about the requirement and do not register the changes, leading to them being paid the wrong Universal Credit housing costs.
In England, where social rents were cut by 1% in April, this could mean tenants are being overpaid and will later need to pay back the difference. Rents increased in Scotland and Wales, meaning that tenants could be receiving less than their entitlements.
The government still considers it the claimant’s responsibility to notify the DWP of circumstance changes, including housing costs, so tenants would need to verify any bulk uploads.
Tweaks have also been made to the Universal Credit landlord portal, which is now used by 764 social landlords, and the DWP is set to introduce a system for those not enrolled in the portal to request that tenants’ rents are paid directly to them.
