Hi, my name is terry123! Why am I not getting help with housing after migration?

terry123

I live in n Ireland and recently been moved to uc. Before the move i was on esa and received £323.50 a fortnight and housing benefit of £156.58 a fortnight. Im now receiving £281.10 esa a fortnight and £65.55 uc a fortnight. Which is now a total of £633.40 a month, which has dropped from £960.16 per month. Also I need to pay rent of £340 per month which leaves me with less than £300 to live on. Why I'm i not getting help with housing?

Kimi87

The ESA is actually £609.05 a month (to convert a weekly benefit into a monthly you multiply the weekly amount by 52 then divide by 12).

So your income is £740.15 a month. Which exceeds your previous ESA award (approximately £700).

Did you report your housing costs when you applied for UC?

If you have access to an online account (known as the Journal), you can write a Journal note (using the payment option) asking why your Housing costs are not being paid.

terry123

Yes i did report my housing costs and showed them proof of rent. I have reported it in my journal but never got a reply

Kimi87

If the claim is fairly recent then it's possible the housing costs haven't been verified in time for your first payment statement.

Did you write the Journal note using the payment option?

The other thing I'd suggest is getting assistance from a local welfare rights organisation.

https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/

terry123

Is it safe to put photos of my journal on here of the break down of payments they sent me. My first payment was 23 September

Kimi87

Yes you can do that, but before posting a photo or screenshot you need to make sure any personal information such as name & address is blanked out.

terry123

Kimi87

Ah okay I see what's happened now.

It's really common for the first statement to be incorrect, especially with this issue. There can be communications delays between ESA & UC confirming your previous ESA award.

LCWRA element is missing from your statement. This increases your UC award before deductions by £423.27.

Add a Journal note (using the payment option) stating LCWRA element is missing.

You'll know when this has been sorted out as a letter will be added to your Journal stating the amount owed due to underpayment. The money will then be paid within a few working days, and new version of your statement added.

You will end up with £214.36 of UC, plus your housing costs of £340.

terry123

Thank you so much for all your help, really appreciated. Will send them another message

terry123

Hi Kimi87 I've just got an updated statement on my journal but still not sure if I'm getting housing element. Was wondering if I screenshot it would you mind taking a look

Kimi87

As we established it isn't Housing Element you are missing, it is LCWRA element.

If you look at the new statement from the first section "What you're entitled to" all the way down until "Total entitlement before deductions"

You should see:

Standard Allowance

LCWRA

Housing

Transitional Protection.

Total Entitlement Before Deductions should now be £1,163.41.

Do you now see all of those things on your new statement?

terry123

Kimi87

Yes your statement is now correct and you are getting everything that you should be getting 👍🏻

terry123

So does this mean I pay my rent out of the £554?

terry123

Thank you once again for all your help

Kimi87

Yes that's correct.

The remaining £214.36, UC and £609.05 New Style ESA is your monthly income after rent is paid for.

Total £823.41, which means you are better off after migration as the monthly equivalent of your previous ESA award was approximately £700.

terry123

This means I'm receiving £140 less than before

Kimi87

UC unlike legacy benefits is paid monthly which takes some getting used to.

To convert a weekly benefit into a monthly you multiply the weekly amount by 52 then divide by 12.

Excluding housing which remains the same, your previous ESA award was £323 a fortnight, meaning the monthly equivalent was £700.

Your New Style ESA plus UC (after rent) is £823.41 a month.

You are now + £123 a month after migration.

terry123

I was receiving £323.50 esa and £156.58 housing benefit per fortnight

Kimi87

Your previous weekly amount including Housing was £240.04.

Converted into a monthly amount using the formula above is £1040.17

You total new income is £1163.41 a month.

£609.05 from New Style ESA and £554.36 from UC.

So you are + £123 a month.

As I advised UC is paid monthly (30 days) and this payment cycle is different from dealing with weekly/7 days & fortnightly/14 days legacy benefits, it takes some getting used to - things often look wrong but are in fact correct.