“Council leaders have warned Universal Credit could halt house-building because of a surge in unpaid rent caused by the flagship benefits reform.

An investigation by BBC Panorama found that council tenants on Universal Credit owe on average £663 in rent, two-and-a-half times more than the £262 owed by those still on housing benefit.

The programme reveals that in Flintshire in North Wales, one of the first areas in the UK to receive the new system, the amount of rent owed to the council by people on Universal Credit is £1,424 in average – or six times the amount owed by those on the existing system.

The local authority says evictions in the county are up by 55% compared to the same time last year, and it has spent an extra £270,000 on advice staff to cope with the increasing numbers of people needing help.

The figures were based on Freedom of Information responses from around 130 councils that manage social housing. …”

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/universal-credit-rent_uk_5be89c53e4b0e84388993c8d