Three-week warning for housing benefit claimants

Within weeks the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will begin contacting housing benefit claimants to inform them that they must switch over to universal credit or lose their payment. 

The switch is part of the DWP’s managed migration process, which will see 2.8 million people on older ‘legacy benefits’ moved over to universal credit.

If you’re only claiming house benefit - and not any other benefits - you’ll receive a letter in early June about the migration process.

Once you receive that letter, you will have three months to put in a claim for universal credit.  If you don’t do it, your benefits will be stopped.

The DWP is rolling out its managed migration process in stages.

From July, they will send letters to those claiming employment support allowance (ESA) with child tax credit. Then in September, those who receive jobseeker's allowance (JSA) will be notified.

Those claiming tax credit with housing benefits received their notices in April and have until July to complete their migration process.

However, the process hasn’t been completely successful, with more than half of all claimants already sent a notice failing to claim universal credit.

The migration process was targeting for completion by 2028. However, the government recently announced it plans to speed up migration and will have moved everyone claiming legacy benefits over to universal credit by 2025.

The benefits being scrapped are:

• Working Tax Credit

• Child Tax Credit

• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

• Income Support

• Housing Benefit

• Income-related Employment Support Allowance

What should I do when I receive a managed migration notice?

If you receive a migration notice letter, you have three months to make a claim for universal credit before your benefit or tax credit payments end.

If you don’t make a claim by the deadline date on your letter, your benefit or tax credits will end on the day before the deadline.

How do I make a claim for universal credit?

You can make your universal credit claim online, over the phone by calling 0800 169 0328, or by asking your local Jobcentre.

Once you've made the claim, you'll have to wait five weeks for your first payment. But after that, you'll keep getting it unless your circumstances change.