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<p>We have not made an assessment of this nature, as it is wrong to attribute any
change in rent arrears solely to Universal Credit. The initial analytical work we
have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving
on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, that their arrears tend to increase
prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears
to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis
to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed. Furthermore,
according to latest figures (November 2018) only about 8% of social rented households
were on Universal Credit; therefore it is difficult to see how a national trend can
be attributed to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We have responded to concerns in
this area by putting a number of safeguards in place - 100% advances repayable over
12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week Transition to Universal
Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service; and Managed Payment to Landlord
Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely
to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent
or is in rent arrears equivalent to eight weeks.</p>
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