Help: proof of housing costs rejected and I don’t know why!

Hi,
Recently did my UC claim on 25 Feb after being migrated, awaiting first payment. Sent them proof of housing costs (tenancy agreement) and proof of address (letter from Thames Water).

Got this message on 14 March which I just saw (I thought I would get an email notification when there’s journal entries?! but I didnt!)

Your housing costs cannot be paid
Your housing costs cannot be paid because you have not provided sufficient evidence of your address and how much rent you must pay. If you can provide further evidence, report a change to where you live and what it costs.

I don’t understand what is wrong with what I sent. The Gov.uk site says this:
This evidence should confirm:

tenant and landlord’s name, address and contact details
address of the property
date the tenancy began and how long the term is
amount of rent and how often it is paid
any deposit amounts payable

My tenancy agreement says all of this. Only things I can think are missing.an issue are:
1. contact details - it has landlord address but not phone number - is that an issue?
2. any deposit amounts payable - it doens’t mention a deposit amount as all tenants all paid that years ago
3. amount of rent - it is a joint tenancy so says the total amount we pay between us. Is this enough evidence of my costs? I said in my claim form we split costs equally
4. The tenancy agreement is electronically signed - could that be an issue? The internet says that electronic signatures are legally binding in UK.

Reading the wording again, it says 'you have not provided sufficient evidence of your address and how much rent you must pay’ so maybe the issue is point 3.
But how do I prove my share of the rent without having to get my landlord to write a letter saying this? (NOT ideal because she hates admin and I don’t want to tell her about UC if possible!)

What should I do!?

Regarding proof of address:
I’m guessing this one was because it was a letter from Thames Water not a bill? That’s all I can think of. Jeez!
Looking again at the list it says - current Council Tax statement ca be used. I just got new council tax bill for 2025-26 so can use that I guess?

Thanks for your help - I need to get this in ASAP and get it right otherwise I won’t get housing costs on 31 when get my first payment! They gave me a deadline before but now its disappeared so I can’t even see when I have to submit it by.

Chloe

Hi David,

thank you. The tenancy agreement is current - dated Nov ’24 and lasting 12 months. The amount of housing costs I put in my form is 1/3 of the amount on the tenancy agreement (I have a joint tenancy with 2 others) so reflects current rent (albeit, the total rent amount for all tenants).

Have you heard of problems verifying rent when its a joint tenancy?
Do you have any other ideas on what the problem could be?

Thanks so much
C