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CenSus logoBenefits

Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

What is Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a way of working out and paying housing benefit for people who rent from a private landlord. It was introduced on 7th April 2008. With LHA, benefit will be based on the number of bedrooms you need and not how much the rent is.

There is no change to the housing benefit entitlement rules which will still be based on a person’s income, savings and proof of rent, etc.

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Who is affected by Local Housing Allowance?

  • Anyone who lives in private rented accommodation and makes a new claim for housing benefit
  • Claimants who change address and rent their property from a private landlord
  • Claimants in privately rented accommodation who have a break in their claim

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Who is not affected by Local Housing Allowance?

You are not affected if :

  • You rent your property from your local council
  • You rent your property from a housing association
  • You have a tenancy that started before 15th January 1989
  • Your rent has been registered with the rent officer as a 'fair rent'
  • You live in a caravan, mobile home or houseboat
  • Your accommodation is provided by a county council, housing association, registered charity or voluntary organisation
    and you are provided with care, support or supervision
  • You live in board and lodging accommodation and the rent officer decides that a substantial part of the rent is for board and attendance.

If you fall into one of the above groups, your housing benefit will not be calculated under LHA rules.

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How is housing benefit calculated under Local Housing Allowance?

The amount of benefit you can get under LHA rules is based on :

  • Who lives with you and the number of bedrooms your family needs
  • The area you live in
  • The amount of money you have coming in
  • What capital / savings you have

The LHA rates may be different for each area and will be set by an independent rent officer, based on local rents. We will publish the LHA rates every month. These rates will determine the maximum amount of benefit you may get.

Local Housing Allowance rates for the last six months :

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What's different about Local Housing Allowance?

Previously, most private tenants claiming housing benefit had their rent examined by the rent officer who decided what level of rent was used in each case.

With LHA you will know before you find somewhere to live, how much help with your rent you might get. By knowing how much you might get, it will be easier for you to decide what type of property you can afford.

If your rent is up to £15 lower than the LHA rate that applies to you, any benefit you might get will still be based on this rate. For example, if your rent is £90 per week and the LHA is £100, then the maximum amount of benefit we could pay you would be £100. This will not affect any other social security benefits you get.

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How many bedrooms do I need?

The number of people who live with you is used to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to. We do not count other rooms such as living room, kitchen or bathroom. You are allowed one bedroom for :

  • Each adult couple
  • Any other person aged 16 or over
  • Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
  • Any two children aged under 10, regardless of their sex
  • Any other child

The number of bedrooms you are assessed as needing is then used to work out which LHA rate usually applies to you. For example :

  • A couple (or lone parent) with one child would be assessed as needing two bedrooms.
  • A couple (or lone parent) with two sons aged 6 and 11 would also be assessed as needing two bedrooms.
  • However, a couple (or lone parent) with a son aged 11 and a daughter aged 6 would be assessed as needing three bedrooms.

See also : Bedroom entitlement calculator for your Local Housing Allowance category

In some cases, there are extra rules - these are looked at below :

If you are under 25

If you :

  • are aged under 25
  • are single
  • live alone
  • are not severely disabled
  • are not a care leaver aged under 22

your benefit will be based on the LHA shared room rate regardless of the size of accommodation that you occupy.

If you are a care leaver aged under 22

If you :

  • are a care leaver aged under 22
  • or live with a care leaver aged under 22 who is your partner
  • and you have no dependent children living with you

your benefit will be based on the one bedroom LHA rate. We will publish the LHA rates on this website once the figures are available.

By 'care leaver' we mean someone who was in council care after the age of 15. For more information about what we mean by care leavers, please contact your local council’s Housing Benefit Office as shown below.

Once a care leaver reaches the age of 22, the shared room LHA rate applies.

If you are part of a couple, or are single over 25, with no dependent children

If you :

  • are part of a couple
  • or are single aged 25 or over
  • and you have no dependent children living with you

your benefit will be based on the one bedroom LHA rate, provided you actually live in self-contained accommodation or you live in shared accommodation, but have sole use of two (or more) rooms.

However, if you live in accommodation where you share facilities with other people, and have sole use of one room only, your benefit will be based on the shared room LHA rate.

If you are severely disabled

If you :

  • are severely disabled
  • or live with a severely disabled partner
  • and have no dependent children

your benefit will be based on the one bedroom LHA rate regardless of the size of accommodation that you occupy. By severely disabled we mean that you have the Severe Disability Premium included in your benefit assessment.

The Severe Disability Premium can only be awarded if :

  • you are single
  • and you receive Attendance Allowance (AA) or the middle or higher rate Disability Living Allowance (DLA) care component
  • and you live alone
  • and no one is entitled to and in receipt of Carer’s Allowance (CA) for looking after you,

or

  • you are a member of a couple and you both receive AA or the middle or higher rate DLA care component, or
  • you are a member of a couple and one partner receives AA or the middle or higher rate DLA care component
  • and the other partner is blind
  • and you and your partner live alone
  • and no-one is entitled to and in receipt of CA for looking after either of you

If you have non-dependants

If you have any non-dependants living with you (for example grown-up children, parents or other relatives or friends) your benefit may be reduced depending on your and your non-dependant’s circumstances.

This is because they are expected to contribute towards your rent.

If you are a joint tenant

If you are a joint tenant (with someone other than your partner) your benefit will be based on the LHA rate solely applicable to your family, plus your non-dependants, sub-tenants or boarders.

If you are a joint tenant and have a shared non-dependant, you will have the non-dependant counted for the size criteria, but only have an apportioned non-dependant deduction.

  • Example 1: Adrian and Bob are joint tenants, living with Charlie, Bob’s father
    Bob will be entitled to the two-bedroom LHA rate because Charlie is classed as only his non-dependant and is counted in the number of bedrooms Bob needs. Bob’s LHA rate is then reduced by the whole of the non-dependant deduction.
    Adrian is classed as a single person living in shared accommodation and is only entitled to the shared LHA rate but without a non-dependant deduction.
  • Example 2 : John and Alex are brothers and jointly rent a property. Their father, Peter, also lives with them
    John and Alex will both be entitled to the two-bedroom LHA rate. This is because their father, Peter, is counted in each of the size criteria calculations. However the non-dependant deduction is apportioned between them as the non-dependant is shared.

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How will benefit be paid?

With LHA, benefit will normally be paid direct to you and it will be your responsibility to pay your rent to your landlord. You cannot simply choose to have your benefit paid direct to your landlord.

LHA will normally be paid direct into a bank account. This means that you will need to open a bank account if you do not have one already. You can then arrange for your bank or building society to pay your rent to your landlord automatically. One way of doing this is called a standing order. If you need to find out more information about opening a bank account, please :

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Safeguards

The government recognises that some tenants may struggle with the responsibility of paying their rent and has provided guidance on when direct payment to the landlord may be appropriate. This means that we can still pay benefit direct to your landlord if we consider that you are likely to have difficulty managing your financial affairs.

We have a policy that will serve as a safeguard to minimise the risk of tenants losing their homes due to eviction for rent arrears. The policy will also reduce any fears that landlords may have regarding potentially vulnerable tenants and those who are unlikely to pay.

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When may the council make payments to the landlord?

Although you cannot choose to have your benefit paid to your landlord, the council can, in the following circumstances, decide to pay benefit to your landlord :

  • If you are eight weeks or more in arrears with your rent
  • If you are likely to have difficulty in managing your financial affairs
  • If you are unlikely to pay your rent

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Who can ask for the payments to be made to the landlord?

The following people may tell the council that you are having difficulty paying your rent :

  • You can approach the council yourself
  • Your friends or family
  • A person acting on your behalf
  • Your landlord

The council may also identify tenants who may have difficulty managing their money from our own face to face contact, for example, when carrying out home visits.

If you would like us to consider direct payment, please download an application form, fill it out and return it to us :

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How do I find out more?

If you would like more information, please contact your relevant council’s Housing Benefit Office as follows :

  • Adur DC logoAdur District Council
    Civic Centre, Ham Road
    Shoreham-by-Sea,
    West Sussex, BN43 6PR
    e-mail : Send benefits an e-mail
    Tel : (01273) 263444
     
  • Horsham DC logoHorsham District Council
    for full details of benefits in the Horsham District (including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) please see:
    Benefits section on the Horsham DC website
    (www.horsham.gov.uk/council_services/council_services_5101.asp)
     
  • Mid Sussex DC logoMid Sussex District Council
    for full details of benefits in the Mid Sussex District (including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) please see:
    Benefits section on the Mid Sussex DC website (www.midsussex.gov.uk/page.cfm?pageID=121)

 

Note : This information is for guidance only. It is not meant to say exactly what your legal rights are. While we have tried to make sure that the information is correct as at 7th April 2008, it is possible that there may be incorrect information or some ideas may be oversimplified. Also, please remember that the information is likely to become less accurate over time because of changes to the law.

CenSus logo 
CenSus is a partnership between Adur, Horsham and Mid-Sussex District Councils. The councils work together to deliver joint services.

 

 

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Contact details :

Benefits,
Adur District Council,
Civic Centre, Ham Road,
Shoreham-by-Sea,
West Sussex, BN43 6PR
Tel : (01273) 263444
Fax : (01273) 263318
Minicom : (01273) 263060
Send benefits an e-mail
website : www.adur.gov.uk

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Related external websites :

DWP : Department for Work and Pensions (www.dwp.gov.uk)

See also :
Find out how to open links to external websites in a new browser window or tab

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