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As The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) grapples with nearly one million new claimants applying for Universal Credit following the outbreak of COVID-19, Caridon Landlord Solutions, part of Caridon Group, says landlords should educate themselves on the Universal Credit system now so that they can support their tenants and both mitigate the risk of rental arrears.

Last week, in his first budget as chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced a £30bn package to tackle the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. One of the measures included temporarily removing the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit claimants, to ensure those on zero-contract hours and the self-employed are not financially worse off if they are forced not to work due to the spread of Coronavirus.

This week, the final episode of the BBC2’s "Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State" aired. Amid mounting criticism, DWP opened the door to BBC cameras. Among the various topics on the final episode, the problems associated with advance payments took centre stage. The final episode took place in Bolton, which has unusually high levels of unemployment for people aged between 17 and 24. Around 500 people move onto Universal Credit every month.

Episode 2 - ‘Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State When Universal Credit was launched, it was promised it would be cheaper to run than the old system. Since 2010, an estimated £37 billion has been cut from the welfare budget and 25,000 staff working in jobcentres. The plight of this was highlighted in this week’s second episode of BBC’s Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State. The documentary visited Toxteth Jobcentre in Merseyside, where 2000 people sign up or move over to Universal Credit every month.

On Tuesday 4th February we saw the first of BBC Two’s three-part series about ‘Universal Credit: Inside the Welfare State’. Universal Credit is the biggest overhaul of the welfare state in a generation. It was designed to simplify the benefits systems and encourage the unemployed into work.

Payments to those in receipt of Universal Credit vary from person to person to take into account individual circumstances which affect them. However, what many do not realise is that the slightest error cannot only impact a claimant financially, but cause difficulties later down the line. Therefore, it is important that if a claimant’s circumstances change at any point they inform Department for Work and Pensions as soon as possible.