Updating your Universal Credit Journal

From April 2026, you need to update your Universal Credit journal. This page shows you, step by step, how to confirm your rent and service charges.

From 6 April 2026, you will see a new ‘To Do’ in your Universal Credit (UC) journal. This To Do is called ‘Confirm your housing costs’. It’s important that you complete it so your Universal Credit is worked out correctly.

What you need to do

Universal Credit will ask you to check and update:

Your rent amount
Any eligible service charges
Any other housing‑related charges

You will be asked to confirm:

How often you pay
How much you now pay

The rent letter we sent you in March will have details of your new rent and service charges.

What happens when you complete the To Do

Completing the ‘Confirm your housing costs’ task helps to:

Make sure your Universal Credit payment is correct
Prevent delays or problems with your housing costs being paid

What each screen looks like

You can use the screenshots in this guide to help you while you complete the To Do.

Step 1: Confirm the date your housing costs changed

The first question you see depends on how often you pay your housing costs.

If you pay monthly, you will be asked:

“Did your housing costs change on 1 April 2026?”

On this screen you will see:

A heading: Date of change
Two options: Yes or No
A Continue button

What to do:

Select Yes if your housing costs changed on 1 April 2026
Select No if they did not
Select Continue to move on

If you pay weekly, fortnightly or 4‑weekly, you will be asked:

“Did your housing costs change on 6 April 2026?”

On this screen you will see:

A heading: Date of change
Two options: Yes or No
A Continue button

What to do:

Select Yes if your housing costs changed on 6 April 2026
Select No if they did not
Select Continue to move on

Step 2: Confirm changes to your rent

On this screen you will see:

A heading: Changes to your rent
Your current rent displayed on screen
Questions asking how often you pay your rent and how much your new rent is
A Continue button

What to do:

Check the current rent shown on screen
Confirm how often you pay your rent
Enter your new rent amount, using your rent letter for reference
Select Continue to move on

Step 3: Confirm changes to your service charges

On this screen you will see:

A heading: Changes to your service charges
Your current service charges displayed
Questions asking:
- How often you pay service charges
- How much your new eligible service charges are
A message explaining that eligible service charges are listed separately on your landlord letter
A Continue button

What to do:

Check the current service charges shown
Confirm how often you pay them
Enter your new eligible service charge amount, using your landlord letter
Select Continue to finish this section

If you still need any help or support updating your journal, please call us on 0191 525 5000 and select option 3 or speak to your Neighbourhood Coordinator.