THOUSANDS of people struggling on universal credit could face being unable to pay their rent because of 2020’s leap year, politicians have warned.

Councillors are concerned that people claiming the controversial benefit to pay their rent could be pushed into arrears because the system cannot match the changes to the calendar.

There are 53 weeks in 2020, but according to a council report universal credit "does not allow" for more than 52 – leaving people unable to claim a payment for their last week of rent.

In Oldham, one of the country’s most deprived boroughs, town hall bosses say they are preparing to foot the bill for residents to stop them going into arrears.

For a rented council home, it would see residents scrambling to find around £85.

But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says no one on universal credit will be left with a rent shortfall, and they are working with landlords to make sure they understand the payment process.

Most social landlords collect rent each Monday and, in the rent year 2019/2020 there will be 53 Mondays.

This happens every five or six years, due to a normal year being 52 weeks and one day, and a leap year comprising of 52 weeks and two days.

Council officers say this creates a "potential problem" for tenants claiming universal credit, which could see them have a week of arrears on their accounts.

This is because the benefit is calculated across monthly payment cycles, with the housing element worked out by multiplying weekly payments by 52, and then dividing by 12.

Addressing a meeting of Oldham’s cabinet, portfolio holder for finance Cllr Abdul Jabbar said: “Next year is actually a 53 week year, but universal credit only pays people’s housing benefit for 52.

“So unless that is addressed by new legislation then people who are on housing benefit will have one week’s less housing benefit to cover the rent.”

The cabinet are recommending to "assist any tenant" that is affected.

Cllr Jabbar added: “It’s just another way of the government squeezing people’s disposable income and that is putting enormous strain on families and we’ve seen the consequences of that in Oldham.

“We’ve seen the increasing number of children being presented to the council to be looked after, and I’m absolutely convinced this is to do with some of the policy this government is actually implementing in our country.”

But the DWP said that no year contains "53 weeks", and people would not be left without money to pay the rent.

A department spokesman said: “No one on universal credit will be left with a week’s rent shortfall as a result of having 53 rent payments in a year.

“Having 53 rent days does not mean paying more rent over a year as most of the final payment will cover the first week’s rent for the following year.”

The government says that if the calendar year ends on Wednesday, then four days of the rent paid will fall into the following year.

Similarly, some of the rent paid in the last rent week of the previous year may have fallen into the current year.

They say that the same will be true for the 12 month period of universal credit, which will “in any event be different from person to person, based on their initial date of claim”.

However cabinet member for housing, Cllr Hannah Roberts told members it was “another example of how universal credit fails to meet people’s needs”.

“As far as housing is concerned, there is a continuing and worsening issue about the gap between the amount that housing benefit pays in relation to the local housing allowance, and what people’s actual housing costs are,” she said.

“So people are being forced to pay a greater percentage of their incomes which are already not sufficient for their needs in order to keep a roof over their heads.”

The report presented to cabinet states that representations are currently being made by the Local Government Association to the DWP to find a ‘resolution’ to the problem.

However, whatever the outcome nationally, the council says it will take "whatever action is within its powers" to support tenants in receipt of universal credit who are impacted by there being 53 rent weeks in 2019/20.

Oldham was one of the boroughs that volunteered to be a pilot area for universal credit in 2013, in the hope that it would simplify the benefits system and help get more residents back into work.

The latest government figures from the roll-out, released in December, show that Oldham has the highest rate of claimants in Greater Manchester.

One in every 14 people in the borough are now on universal credit.

However politicians, campaigners and charities have blamed universal credit for driving the rising use of food banks across the country.

The work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd has admitted in the Commons that the increased use of food banks is partly down to problems in rolling out universal credit.

Council leader Sean Fielding told Monday night’s meeting: “The secretary of state for work and pensions admitted that the rise in food bank uses because of the policy of universal credit, so government policy has been responsible for forcing people to turn to charity to feed themselves.

“I think that’s shocking considering we’re supposed to be a developed country.”