Housing benefit and Universal Credit guidance

Do you claim support for housing costs (rent) from Housing Benefit OR Universal Credit?

Your address at Stratford Halo remains your permanent tenancy address. This is where rent continues to be charged.

You must keep your housing costs support open at that address as it is where you still have rent liability. 
Technically you do not have to change or do anything.  

Housing Benefit claimants (with Newham)

• Contact Newham borough benefits team on 020 8430 2000
• Inform Housing Benefit that you are “temporarily relocated from your permanent tenancy address & you continue to have rent liability at the permanent address. “
• There is NO change to your claim address for rent liability.
• No other changes need to be made to your claim unless your employment /household/ income changes. 

Our welfare benefits team are working with Newham Council to get some housing benefit claims reinstated after they were suspended. These claims are all for those who are of Pension Credit age.

Universal Credit claimants

• DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS ON UC AT ALL
• Write a note on your journal for your work coach which states “I am temporarily relocated from my permanent tenancy address & I continue to have rent liability at my permanent address.”

Rent Changes

If your permanent tenancy address has a rent change while you are out of the property, please update Housing Benefit or Universal Credit as usual with the new rent/housing costs for your permanent address.