Your Universal Credit payment may stop for a number of reasons.

It could be that:

• You are no longer entitled.
  See Who can get Universal Credit? for more information.
  
  
• You (or your partner) failed to accept an updated claimant commitment.
  See below.
  
  
• You’ve failed to renew your claim.
  See below.
  
  
• Your earnings have increased and so your new award is nil.
  See below.
  
  
• You’ve been sanctioned.
  See I’ve been sanctioned for more information.
  
  
• You have an APA managed payment in place and your award has dropped below your housing costs.
  See below.
  
  

You (or your partner) failed to accept an updated claimant commitment

Whenever you have a change in your circumstances your Work Coach will review your claimant commitment.

If it changes you will have 7 days within which to accept it – you need to login to your Universal Credit account and accept it online.

If you fail to do so, then your claim will be closed.

If this happens, make a new claim straightaway and speak to a Benefits Adviser to see if there is anything you can do about the closed claim.

See What is the claimant commitment? for more information on the claimant commitment.

You’ve failed to reverify your claim

If you’ve been on Universal Credit as a jobseeker for 12 months or more then you will need to reverify your claim. If you think this may have happened to you, contact a Benefits Adviser.

If your payment stops because your earnings have increased

As your income increases, your payment will reduce until you’re earning enough to no longer be awarded Universal Credit. Your payment will then be stopped and your Universal Credit claim will be closed. You’ll be told when this happens.

If your circumstances change within 6 months of your last Universal Credit payment (for example, if your earnings go down or a change in your personal circumstances which means you need more financial help), it’s easy to re-apply. You’ll usually just need to log into your online account and confirm that the details you gave before are correct. You will keep your original payment dates.

If this is done more than 6 months after your last Universal Credit payment, you will need to make a new claim.

If your award includes Housing Costs

In some cases, the total amount of Universal Credit you are entitled to will be less than the amount of rent you pay (e.g. if you have income and/or their are deductions to your award). If this happens and you have an Alternative Payment Arrangement that means your rent is paid directly to your landlord, you will not receive any Universal Credit – but your landlord will still be receiving money towards your rent.

In cases like this, if your total Universal Credit payment is reduced to less than your housing costs, you’ll need to make up the difference yourself. Your Universal Credit claim will only be closed when there is no payment to either you or your landlord.