Change of circumstances on Universal Credit
This information applies to England and Wales.
When you are claiming Universal Credit (UC), you must tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if some things in your life change. These are called ‘change of circumstances’.
Skip to
- Changes to tell the DWP about
- Contact Universal Credit
- Changes can affect Universal Credit payments
- If you’re no longer eligible for Universal Credit
- Benefits and your mental health
- When your payments change
- Review after a change of circumstances
- Applying for other benefits
- Joint claims for Universal Credit
- When your child turns 18 or leaves education
- Staying away from home
- Moving home and change of address
- If you have an unpaid carer
- Going to college or university
- If a change of circumstance does not happen
- Support if your Universal Credit is affected
- Help with food, bills and essentials
Changes to tell the DWP about
You should tell the DWP about:
- changes to your health condition, including changes to your existing condition or if you have a new condition
- becoming too ill to work or meet your work coach
- your rent going up or down
- your earnings and expenses if you’re self-employed
- finding or finishing a job
- starting to care for a child or disabled person
- having a child
- moving in with your partner
- your child stopping or restarting education or training, if they’re aged 16 to 19
- changing your mobile number or email address
- moving to a new address
- going outside the UK for any length of time, if you live in the UK
- changing your bank details
- changes to your savings, investments and how much money you have
- changes to your immigration status, if you’re not a UK citizen
Report a change of circumstances (GOV.UK)
Tell the DWP as soon as these things happen.
If something has changed in your life but you are not sure if it's relevant, report it anyway.
Contact Universal Credit
You can report a change of circumstances by:
- leaving a note on your Universal Credit online journal or
- calling the Universal Credit helpline
Changes can affect Universal Credit payments
Some changes of circumstances can affect how much Universal Credit you receive. This could mean you get more or less, or you can stop receiving it.
You can find out if a change will affect your payments before it has happened.
Use a free online benefits calculator. Fill in the information as if you have already made the change.
If you are self-employed and your income varies each month, use an average month’s earnings.
If you do not report a change
You might receive less or more Universal Credit than you are entitled to.
If you get too much Universal Credit, you will need to pay this back. This will reduce future payments.
Warning You may be fined or taken to court
If you do not report changes and that means you get more Universal Credit than you are entitled to, you may get a fine.
In the most serious cases, the DWP could accuse you of benefit fraud. The DWP may even take you to court. It is rare to be convicted of benefit fraud, but, if this happens, you will have a criminal record.
If you are accused of benefit fraud, get legal advice.
If you’re no longer eligible for Universal Credit
The DWP will tell you if a change of circumstances means you are no longer eligible for Universal Credit. You do not need to cancel your claim yourself.
Benefits and your mental health
The benefit process can be stressful. There are things you can do if it’s affecting your mental health. These can include:
- accessing mental health support
- talking to a mental health charity about how you are feeling
- talking to other disabled people on our online community
Support if claiming benefits affects your mental health
If your mental health means you find it hard to work or do daily tasks, you could claim benefits. These will depend on the criteria but can include depression or anxiety.
When your payments change
If your payments go up or down after a change of circumstance, it affects the whole of your ‘assessment period’ (a month).
Your Universal Credit is paid on the same date each month. That is the date of your first payment.
For example,
Your Universal Credit assessment period starts on the 5th of each month.
You move home on the 22nd of the month and you tell the DWP.
Your Universal Credit payment changes.
The DWP works out your next Universal Credit payment as if you had moved house at the start of your assessment period. That is the 5th of that month.
Review after a change of circumstances
After you report a change of circumstances, you will not need a Universal Credit review.
But if your health has changed, you might have another Work Capability Assessment.
Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit
Applying for other benefits
Applying for a disability benefit like Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not reduce your Universal Credit payments.
If you receive the limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) element, claiming PIP will not change this.
If you claim Disability Living Allowance for your disabled child, it could increase your Universal Credit. This is because you could also claim the disabled child element of Universal Credit.
What else you’re entitled to when your child gets DLA
Some other benefits can reduce the amount of Universal Credit you receive. This is because they count as income. For example, Carer’s Allowance and New Style Employment and Support Allowance.
Before you apply, use a benefits calculator to check if they will affect your Universal Credit payments.
Joint claims for Universal Credit
You might live with your partner and have a joint claim for Universal Credit. If you stop living together or split up, you move to a single claim.
If you have LCWRA element, you will keep that on a single claim.
When your child turns 18 or leaves education
You need to tell the DWP when your child turns 18 or leaves education.
If your child is a ‘qualifying young person’, you can still receive the child element of Universal Credit for them until 1 September after their 19th birthday. It depends on their circumstances.
Staying away from home
You should tell the DWP if you stay away from your home overnight or more:
- in the UK
- abroad
This includes going on holiday.
Universal Credit housing element when away from home (Shelter)
Moving home and change of address
Moving home is a change of circumstance you need to tell the DWP about. Tell them as soon as you move.
If your rent goes up or down, it will probably affect the housing element of your Universal Credit.
You do not need to cancel your current claim and start a new one if you move to:
- a different local authority
- a different country within the UK, for example Wales to England
But you still need to tell the DWP.
Find your local council (GOV.UK)
You may be eligible for help with your Council Tax.
If you have an unpaid carer
If a friend or family member cares for you unpaid, they could claim the carer’s element of Universal Credit. This is an extra payment added to their standard allowance.
This is as long as they provide 35 or more hours of care every week and you also receive:
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- high or middle rate care component of Disability Living Allowance
- Attendance Allowance
- Armed Forces Independences Payment
If you get Universal Credit, it will not be affected.
If you get legacy benefits, it could mean you are no longer entitled to Severe Disability Premium.
Carer’s element of Universal Credit and Carer’s Allowance
These are 2 separate things. Your carer can claim both at the same time. Carer’s Allowance counts as income. This means any money carers receive as Carer’s Allowance will be deducted from their Universal Credit. Your carer does not have to claim Carer’s Allowance to get the carer’s element of Universal Credit.
If your carer receives the limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) element, they cannot also get the carer’s element.
Any paid work your carer does will not affect the carer’s element they receive. This is as long as they provide 35 or more hours of care every week. But it could affect the overall amount of Universal Credit they receive.
Find out how a change would affect the payments you receive.
How carer’s element is paid
Your carer might feel concerned that more money is being taken from their Universal Credit than they receive from Carer’s Allowance. Usually this is because these are paid differently:
- Carer’s Allowance is paid every 4 weeks.
- Universal Credit is paid every month.
Contact Universal Credit if you think your payments are wrong.
How to apply for carer’s element
If your carer already claims Universal Credit, they need to:
- leave a note on their Universal Credit online journal or
- call the Universal Credit helpline
If they do not already claim Universal Credit but now have caring responsibilities, they might be eligible for carer’s element.
Find out what they might be able to receive.
Going to college or university
Most people who study full-time at college or university are not normally eligible for Universal Credit.
You are eligible if you are in the limited capability for work group or limited capability for work and work-related activity group before your course starts. You also need to claim one of the following:
- Personal Independence Payment
- Disability Living Allowance
- Attendance Allowance or
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
You may also be eligible to study and claim Universal Credit if:
- you’re responsible for a child or
- you live with a partner who is eligible for Universal Credit
The rules can be different depending on the level of course you study.
Guidance on claiming Universal Credit if you’re a student (GOV.UK)
The DWP treats studying remotely or doing distance learning as studying part-time. This includes courses with The Open University.
What counts as a full-time course (GOV.UK)
Can part-time students claim Universal Credit? (Turn2us)
If you are eligible for Universal Credit, your student income could mean your payments go down.
Studying part-time and work requirements
If you have work requirements and you study part-time, you may be eligible for Universal Credit. This is if you can still fulfil the work requirements.
If you feel DWP should reduce or change your work requirements, you could argue that your course is to help you get better work in future.
You could:
- speak to your work coach
- write a comment in your journal
Your college or university may also be able to give you advice.
Student income and Universal Credit
Your student income can affect how much Universal Credit you get. This includes:
- student maintenance loans
- bursaries
- grants
How student income affects Universal Credit (GOV.UK)
If you have Disabled Students’ Allowance, it does not affect Universal Credit.
Benefits advice for disabled students
Disability Rights UK has an advice and information line for disabled students, trainees and apprentices studying in England.
Disabled Students Helpline (Disability Rights UK)
Student Finance Wales has information for students in Wales.
If a change of circumstance does not happen
If you report a change of circumstance and then it does not happen:
- leave a note on your Universal Credit online journal or
- call the Universal Credit helpline
Support if your Universal Credit is affected
If you get less Universal Credit after you have reported a change of circumstance, there is help available.
Claiming other benefits
You may be able to claim other benefits. It depends on your circumstances.
If your rent is more than your Universal Credit housing element, you might be eligible for a discretionary housing payment.
Help with food, bills and essentials
There are places where you can get free or cheap food.
If you need support with energy bills, there is some support available from government and local authorities.
Government help with energy bills
A Scope energy adviser can give you support with your energy and water needs.
Last reviewed by Scope on: 27/08/2024
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