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The government has been accused of defying the Western calendar in a row over payment dates that leaves Universal Credit families short of rent.

A council housing officer gave the devastating verdict on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in a major dispute over the six-in-one benefit.

The problem hits council and social housing tenants who pay rent once a week.

Many will make 53 rent payments in 2019/20. That is because each year has 52 weeks, plus one day - and this year there are 53 Mondays.

Yet Universal Credit awards will be the same as any other year, because the six-in-one benefit is calculated on the basis of there being 52 weeks in a year.

The missing extra day - two days in a leap year - means every five or six years, people on Universal Credit have to find an extra week's rent.

Months after the "bizarre" and "unfair" loophole was highlighted, the DWP is still in talks over whether or how to fix it.

(Image: Alamy)

Now the Commons Work and Pensions Committee has released correspondence from housing officers that lays bare the scale of the problem.

Housing associations have warned hundreds of thousands of pounds of rental income is "at risk", with tenants possibly falling into arrears.

And the National Housing Federation told MPs around 290,000 households could be affected.

Adam Jenner, head of income and home ownership at Islington Council, said the discrepancy was "very concerning" and DWP thinking was "flawed".

He wrote to the committee: "The fundamental problem is that it appears the DWP disagrees with the fundamental workings of the Gregorian calendar.

"As you are well aware, there are 52.143 weeks in a year. For the DWP to claim that they will only pay on the basis of 52 weeks is a rejection of this fact.

"And that will ultimately bring hardship to tenants."

(Image: Getty Images)

The senior housing officer added: "The Department should abandon their strict, arbitrary rules that do not reflect the reality of people’s lives."

Newcastle City Council warned up to £606,000 of rental income could be at risk - an average of £83.18 per tenant.

Bath housing association Curo claimed £245,000 was at risk while Halton Housing had around a £200,000 shortfall.

Halton chief executive Nick Atkin compared the situation to what would happen if workers were deprived a weeks' wages every five years.

He told MPs: "It would be inconceivable and unlawful to ask them to forgo a week’s wages due to timing differences."

In February, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd acknowledged the problem cost claimants £1.14 per month on average, and said she was "considering whether this formula should be amended".

(Image: PA)

But she warned it would take major changes, including to the law, and could not be delivered immediately.

DWP committee chief Frank Field, a former Labour MP, has written to her asking for an update.

A DWP spokesman said: “No year contains 53 weeks.

“Landlords who charge rent weekly on a Monday, every five or six years seek 53 rent payments in a year, but the additional payment covers the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.

“However, we continue to listen to feedback about Universal Credit and work with claimants and landlords to review how the system is working and we are considering whether changes are required.”