Check if you should move to Universal Credit from other benefits

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

Universal Credit is replacing older benefits. These are called ‘legacy benefits’. Legacy benefits are:

  • Housing Benefit

  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

  • Income Support

  • Child Tax Credit

  • Working Tax Credit

Most people’s legacy benefits have ended. Some people can continue to get income-related ESA or Housing Benefit - but only in certain situations.

You might still be getting income-related ESA if the DWP thought you might need an ‘appointee’ to help you claim Universal Credit. An appointee is someone who has the legal right to sort out someone’s benefits for them.

The DWP should send you or your appointee a ‘migration notice’ in the future. A migration notice is a letter telling you to start claiming Universal Credit by a certain date.

Check how to move to Universal Credit if you’ve had a migration notice.

If you get Housing Benefit

You can continue claiming Housing Benefit if any of these apply to you:

  • you’ve reached State Pension age – check your state pension age on GOV.UK

  • you live in temporary or supported accommodation

  • you’re under State Pension age but you live with a partner who has reached State Pension Age - only some people in this situation can keep getting Housing Benefit

  • you also claim income-related ESA because the DWP thought you might need an ‘appointee’ to claim Universal Credit

If you live in temporary or supported accommodation

You can keep claiming Housing Benefit. 

Your home is usually counted as supported accommodation if:

  • your landlord’s a charity or housing association and they give you care or support

  • you get accommodation from a charity or housing association because you need care or support

If you live with a partner who has reached State Pension Age

If you’re under State Pension age but you live with a partner who has reached State Pension Age, you might be able to keep getting Housing Benefit. 

Your Housing Benefit can continue if both of the following apply:

  • your partner reached State Pension age before 15 May 2019

  • you’ve been claiming Housing Benefit or Pension Credit as part of the same couple since before 15 May 2019

If you get Housing Benefit or Pension Credit, you might be worse off if you claim Universal Credit instead - and you might not be able to go back to claiming your old benefits. Talk to an adviser to check if you’ll be worse off claiming Universal Credit.

If you separate from your partner while you’re still under State Pension age, you’ll stop getting Housing Benefit. You’ll need to claim Universal Credit instead.

If you get income-related ESA and Housing Benefit

If you’re getting income-related ESA because the DWP thought you might need an ‘appointee’ to help you claim Universal Credit, your Housing Benefit can also continue. 

The DWP should send you or your appointee a migration notice in the future, telling you to move to Universal Credit by a certain date.

Both benefits will stop when you move to Universal Credit, unless you live in temporary or supported accommodation. In this situation, your ESA will end but you can keep getting Housing Benefit.

Check how to move to Universal Credit if you’ve had a migration notice.

Page last reviewed on 01 July 2026