Universal Credit – The Housing Costs Elements

The Frontline Network are delighted to offer this session, Universal Credit – The Housing Costs Elements, delivered by The Benefits Training Co. as part of our Outsourced Training Programme.

Who can attend?

To attend this session, you will need to be employed as a frontline worker supporting individuals who are facing or threatened by homelessness working the UK.

This course is for participants working with people of working age who pay rent. A basic understanding of universal credit is assumed. If you are new to universal credit we would recommend to not attend this session.

All attendees must be in paid positions and register using their work email address. If you do not meet this criteria, we will not be able to offer a space on this training session.

About this Course

This course begins with the eligibility rules for the Housing Costs Element of UC and who can get it in respect of rent. It goes on to look at how the Housing Costs Element is worked out and how we can check amounts are calculated and paid correctly.

Participants will receive an e-certificate for completing this Benefits Training Co. course. This also guarantees eligibility to access their free advice service for 6 months.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants will:

· Understand which rent payments are eligible for universal credit housing costs element, including the liability and occupation rules.

· Understand how the housing costs element is calculated.

· Understand restrictions on housing costs and how amounts can be affected by non-dependants, the size criteria, the local housing allowance and service charges.

· Understand how changes such as rent increases and moving home affect UC.

· Be able to check that universal awards are correct in respect of the housing costs element.

What you will need (online)

Participants will need a Wi-Fi connection and a suitable device to access the internet. Prior to the event, participants will receive an email with a link which they should use to join the event as well as a pdf of the training pack and slides which should be accessible (either printed or downloaded to a computer or another device) throughout each part of the course.

GDPR Statement

The Frontline Network are working with The Benefits Training Co. as training provider to offer Universal Credit – The Housing Costs Elements on 30/09/2025. In order to facilitate this training session, we are required to share registration information with The Benefits Training Co. to deliver the session. Information collected at registration will include name, job role, organisation name and postcode, work email address, and work phone number (optional). Trainer will only use this information to register attendance, share joining links, share pre- and post-training course materials, share feedback forms and, where necessary, answer questions that arise in training but are unable to be answered due to time constraints. By registering for this training event, you are confirming your consent for the Frontline Network to share your registration details with The Benefits Training Co. for the above stated purposes.

Please note if you do not consent to your registration details being shared with training provider, we will not be able to host you on this training session.

Training Fund

Interested in further training for yourself or your organisation? The Frontline Network can provide up to £500 towards an individual training course or £1,500 towards a group training session through our Training Fund programme. Visit our website here for further information about our criteria and how to apply.

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