Everything that changed in Universal Credit in April 2026

Since 2017, families could only get a child element for their first two children. That restriction ended on 6 April 2026. Universal Credit now includes a child element for every child you are responsible for, however many there are, and the exceptions people had to apply for (multiple births, adoption, non-consensual conception) no longer matter for the element itself. Families already claiming did not need to do anything: the extra amount was added automatically, arriving in the May or June payment depending on where their assessment period fell.

The limited capability for work-related activity element used to be a single figure. From 6 April 2026 it is two: £429.80 a month, or £217.26. The higher rate is protected for anyone already receiving it, anyone who reported their condition before 6 April 2026, anyone meeting the severe conditions criteria, and anyone claiming under the special rules for end of life. Everyone else gets the lower rate, a difference of £2,550.48 a year between two people with the same condition.

The standard allowance was uprated above inflation, part of a multi-year commitment to raise it in real terms. A single person aged 25 or over went from £400.14 to £424.90 a month, and a couple where one is 25 or over from £628.10 to £666.97. Child elements, disabled child additions, the carer element and the childcare caps all rose too, and the work allowances went to £427.00 and £710.00.

Three things were left exactly where they were, and all three affect housing. Local Housing Allowance was frozen for a third year at rates set from September 2023 market rents, so private renters face a widening gap between the cap and their actual rent. The benefit cap was frozen again. And the 14% and 25% under-occupancy reductions, the capital limits of £6,000.00 and £16,000.00, and the 55% taper are all unchanged.

If you have three or more children, check the child elements appear on your statement. Every child should have one. If you reported a health condition close to 6 April, check which rate you were given, because the date you reported it decides it. If your rent went up in April, report the change: the housing element does not follow a rent increase on its own. And if your award is capped, check whether the exemptions now apply to you, because the earnings threshold moved even though the cap did not.