What is the 53 week payment year?

In this financial year (1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025) there are 53 Mondays, which means you will be charged 53 times throughout the year rather than 52.

Direct Debit: If you pay by direct debit, we will automatically adjust the payments.

Standing Order: If you pay by standing order, please inform your bank of the changes and re-calculate your rent accordingly. Calculate this by multiplying your weekly rent by 53, then dividing this by 12 to find your monthly rent payment.

E.g.: Weekly rent is £150. Multiply this by 53 (£150 x 53 = £7,950). Then take the total (£7,950) and divide this by 12 for your monthly rent (£7,950 % 12 = £662.5). This will be the amount due each calendar month.

Universal Credit: The DWP will not be paying any extra Universal Credit to cover this. Therefore, please we aware of the changes to your rent as you will need to pay a little more each week to keep your payments up to date and not fall into arrears.

Please ensure your payment frequency is adjusted, whether you are paying monthly, weekly or fortnightly.

If you are unsure what to do or want more information, please get in touch with our Income Team on 0121 633 4633 or email incomemanagement@tridentgroup.org.uk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this change?

In a normal year, you would pay rent for 52 weeks. However, there are slightly more days than 52 weeks in a year which means that every few years, the extra days add up to create a 53 week year. Similar to a leap year!

How will this affect me?

For those that pay weekly, fortnightly or four weekly then there will be an extra week of rent to be paid. For those that pay monthly, you will need to make sure the extra week is covered in your monthly payments.

Who is affected?

Housing Benefit: If you are on housing benefit, the extra week will be covered by HB as they pay every week which is charged. Therefore, you will not be impacted.

Universal Credit: The DWP will not cover the extra week of rent. You are responsible for ensuring this is paid. you will need to pay for the additional week yourself by increasing your payments using the calculation: Weekly rent amount x 53 weeks divided by 12 = monthly rent payment.

What if I am unhappy about Universal credit not covering the extra week?

Unfortunately, we are unable to do anything about this as you will still be liable to make the payment as you are the tenant.

What do I need to do if I pay by Direct Debit?

You will not need to do anything. The changes to payment will be calculated by us and deducted automatically.

What if I pay by standing order?

If you pay by standing order, you will need to adjust your payments with your bank to cover the 53 weeks. You can use the below calculation to help you with this:

Weekly rent amount x 53 weeks divided by 12 = monthly rent payment.

What if I already have arrears?

If you have an agreement in place to pay arrears already, you need to add the amount that you are reducing your arrears by to your newly calculated payment that covers your rent. If you are unsure about how this will affect you, contact our income teams at incomemanagement@tridentgroup.org.uk