Anyone on universal credit? Extra rent due to leap year?

[CoralMoose]

So today I had a phonecall with my landlord she told me that because of the leap-year I would have to make extra rent payments.
Universal credit will only pay for the 52 week year not 53

She said I need to pay £50 a month from this month until March,I only found out about this today

I don't understand how it's so much? It just one week?

Anyone else had this ?

Don't know how I'm going to afford it

Had a couple of interviews this week so praying I get those 🤞🏻

I’m pretty sure this only happens with social housing tbh

Yes it's housing association so not trying to get extra out of me or anything. I would have thought it would only be a week extra. Not sure if they would have told me wrong though they know what they are doing

It should only be an extra week however I've seen HA's that want you to build up a month's credit because UC is paid monthly in arrears.

Also the council i work for are allowing DHP claims for the additional week so perhaps check with your council?

Would have been helpful to point out you're renting from a HA in your first post. The wording implied you have an individual landlord, but presumably the woman you spoke to works for the HA.

Ask for an up-to-date rent statement showing the amount you owe. It might be that you have some arrears due to the fact that rent is due in advance and UC is paid in arrears. They might be trying to get you to pay more so that your rent account is in credit rather than in arrears. However, if that's the case, they should have explained it.

And yes, the 53-week rent year is a thing. See www.housing.org.uk/resources/why-are-we-calling-for-change-on-the-53-week-rent-year/

I have never heard of this, surely it's a wind up ?? Incredibly tight for one extra day.

If your rent is £259/month that's £59.77/week so less than £60 to pay between now and March. I expect they want you to pay more though so your rent account will be in credit instead of arrears. You don't have to agree to the £50/month. Once you have something in writing, you could contact your local citizens advice for more help with it. I would suggest doing a budget of your income/outgoings to work out what you can reasonably afford and then making an offer. If it's going to make money tight then you can apply to the council for a DHP (discretionary housing payment) although it does seem like overkill for the sake of £59.77.

Ah, I've seen you're in a HA property, so it seems my advice is redundant. Sorry.

Yeah sorry I should have said.
She said it was because of the 53 week year and it only happens every 4 years so not to worry about next year

I will Hopefully be working soon anyway

It’s only £53 if UC take the annual rent and divide it by the number of weeks in the year (53). Are you in arrears because UC pay in arrears, OP?

The system is ridiculous, really, I don't know why councils and HAs are still doing weekly rent charges when the vast majority of people (working age people, anyway) are on UC which is paid monthly.

Most years have 365 days which is 52 weeks and 1 day.
Leap years have 366 days which is 52 weeks and 2 days.
All years have 12 months so just charge rent monthly FFS!

That's not how it's calculated.

Yes universal credit pay it to them a month in arrears. They have always been fine with that,
If they wanted me to be in credit I wish they would have just told me that

I think the 53 week year should only happen every 5 or 6 years, not every 4 years. It's not because of the leap year, it's because every year has an extra day (most years) or 2 days (leap years) and eventually those extra days add up to an extra week.

Also... are you sure she said £50 and not £15? Because a week's rent is just under £60, which is 4 payments of £15 from December to March.

Some years have 53 weeks for tax purposes. Just like a 9 month pregnancy isn't 9 * 4 weeks.
A month only = 4 weeks long if it's a Feb in a none leap year..
52 weeks is 13 * 4 weeks so 13 months in a year by some people's 'calculations'

Its not a 53wk year. Its 52wks still, a leap year is an extra day, what is your LL on about?

it is a 53 week Monday year running from April 24 to April 25

local authorities will follow the tax year not the Gregorian calendar year

if ou pay your rent on a Monday - which my council request - then you'll pay your rent 53 times not 52

Yes because she sent me a message after,but didn't mention any ongoing payments.
Hopefully she will get back to me soon as they want the money on Monday

Whaaat. I suggest paying £15 on Monday and then each month until you've paid £60. No more unless / until you have received a proper letter explaining why they are asking for £50 and how it was calculated, enclosing an up to date rent statement.

I’ve had to pay £10 per month extra each month for a year to allow for the extra rent period. The £50 will just be a one off to get you up to date for the year

Does that add up to a weeks rent or a month for you?
I'm hoping they have made a mistake and I'll only need to pay the £60 altogether
Still waiting for them to confirm in writing

I privately rented for 23 years and never had to pay extra rent in a leap year 🤨

Yes it's real, my LL is an housing association... because there are 53 mondays and rent (about £125)is weekly due on a Monday but paid monthly, they've added an extra £10ish to my monthly direct debit, no I can't reduce it.. they get a full weeks rent for an extra day. Uc only pay for 52 weeks, so every 5-6 years due to there being an extra Monday on the year, not necessarily because of leap year, but because 365 is odd number divided by 52 even numbers

So your rent is the equivalent of £59.77 a week.

But there are 53 Mondays, so UC this financial year will be the equivalent of £58.64 per week leaving your landlord £1.13 per week short or £59.89 over the year.

So if you pay £1.13 a week extra of £59.89 as a one off or another amount per month agreed with your landlord.

The problem is that you may be going in to arrears if you only pay the amount monthly.

You need to talk to CAB or another advisor. When you do ask them about getting an advance from UC of £60 that you can pay to your landlord and then your UC will be slightly less but you won't go in to arrears.

https://www.citizensadviceknowsley.org.uk/53-week-rent-year/

This is such bullshit. One extra day does not make a £50 increase and isn't rent usually per calendar month? If this is genuine then it's an absolute scam and I'd be writing to an MP or something. I don't think it's fair to charge people who are the least likely to have this additional, out of nowhere charge.