I understood from the guides that housing benefit would continue to be paid for a couple of weeks after claiming Universal credit. I made a UC claim online but was unable to verify my identity. I then got an email from the landlord today saying I was in arrears. It's only been about ten days since I claimed UC online so it looks like housing benefit must have stopped straight away.
I thought that the claim didn't actually start until I had verified my identity, but it appears that the UC claim triggered some effect that has stopped housing benefit. I have an appointment with the job centre to verify my identity, but am unsure what I need to do before then? Shall I contact the local authority. Should they still be paying housing benefit?
When you hit the submit button on a UC claim it automatically terminates all Legacy Benefits such as Housing Benefit, ESA and Income Support. You should get a 2 week HB run on. I would phone your local Council HB department to check if that happened. UC Housing Costs are paid monthly in arrears. So the timing of the payments to the landlord will be different.
Let me know how you get on. David
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
