Backdating a Claim for Universal Credit
Usually Universal Credit starts from the day that you make a claim for it, but in some circumstances a claim can be backdated* for up to a month.
This applies if you could not have reasonably been expected to claim earlier, if:
- You have a disability.
- You have supplied doctor’s statements (sick-notes) to show that you were unwell and could not manage to claim.
- You could not claim because the official computer system was not working and you claimed on the first day that it was working.
- You have made a new claim as a single person after the end of a relationship; where an old claim was ended or refused because your ex-partner did not meet the claimant commitment rules.
- You were previously getting Income Support, JSA, ESA, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit, and you were not notified that it would stop before it did.
If you have a partner you must both come into one of these categories to get your claim backdated.
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The Not Notified That Another Benefit Would Stop Rule
This rule can be helpful in a situation where someone claims the wrong benefit, or fails to claim following a change of circumstances.
An upper tribunal case considered a situation where a couple moved from one council area to another.
They tried to claim Housing Benefit for their new home and after a short delay were told by the new council that this was no longer possible because of the introduction of Universal Credit.
By the time that they got this response, they already had rent arrears for their new home.
They then claimed Universal Credit and asked for it to be backdated to cover the period of the delay.
The claim was allowed but the backdate was initially refused so they appealed against this decision.
By the time this got to the upper tribunal the DWP had changed their mind, and the judge agreed.
The old-school Housing Benefit had ended when they moved out of that council area. Because they had not been told that they would need to claim UC in the new area, that counted as not being notified that the old entitlement would stop.
The case reference for my fellow nerds is [2020] UKUT 309 (AAC)
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Asking for the Backdate
If possible, you should ask for the backdate before the DWP makes a decision on your claim at the end of your first assessment period.
If you ask for the backdate after this, the Decision Maker is likely to say that it is not possible.
There is a strong legal argument to say that this is not correct.
Get in touch for help in appealing against this refusal.
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* What’s with the Asterisk?
Strictly speaking the rules described above do not allow backdating, but instead they extend the time limit for claiming. This makes no real difference to practical situations, but as Judge Jacobs said in the case referred to above, it is good to be accurate.