Two Child Limit removal; benefit cap and Discretionary Housing Payment
- Apr 8
- 2 min read
From 6 April 2026, the two child limit was removed from universal credit. The resultant increase in maximum award means that working families with three or more children who don’t currently claim universal credit may be eligible. In cases where this brings household's into the benefit cap, then Discretionary Housing Payment can be claimed.
Update shared by NAWRA for sharing with advisors and support workers:
'As well as boosting payments for those already in receipt of UC, when the two child limit is scrapped in April, families with 3 or more children could become newly eligible for universal credit. This is because the additional child elements increase a family's maximum award so that it is now possible to qualify with a higher income.
Use one of the calculators below to see if families can claim this extra support and the vital ‘passported’ benefits that come with it, such as Free School Meals -
For those who are already in receipt of universal credit, the DWP is writing to all claimants who may qualify for extra money. However, it is not writing to those who already have the benefit cap applied as they will not benefit currently. Supporting larger families to meet the conditions for an exemption from the cap will be particularly important to enable households to benefit from the change.
It is also possible that some UC claimants with three or more children may not have told the DWP about all of them as they know they would not receive anything for them in their award. They should be encouraged to advise the DWP of their presence as soon as possible.'
Where claimants are affected by the benefit cap, they can apply for Discretionary Housing Payment. Find out more, and apply at:
See also our previous post which includes an overview from CPAG on many of these issues:
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