Housing Benefit and the Local Housing Allowance

Those people renting from a private landlord and changing address, or making a new Housing Benefit claim, will have their benefit calculated from the Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

Those not covered by the LHA are:

• Council tenants
• Housing Association tenants
• Tenants with a registered ‘fair rent’
• Pre 1989 tenancies
• Tenancies provided by charitable or voluntary organisations which include care, support or supervision
• Tenants of caravans, mobile homes and house boats.

The Valuation Office Agency will set a flat rate LHA for properties in the broad market area based upon the number of bedrooms. This will form the starting point of the LHA calculation. Entitlement will still be assessed taking into account a claimant's income and personal circumstances and thus may be paid at a rate lower than the Valuation Office Agency's figure.

The LHA for differing sizes of accommodation will be set by the Valuation Office Agency each month and the details will be publicised locally by the Housing Benefit Section. The LHA will be the rate for the month in which the claim starts. Unless there is some relevant change (eg, the birth of a child), the LHA will be unchanged for 52 weeks.

The rate is based on how many bedrooms are required for the number of people living in the property. It allows one bedroom for:

• Every adult couple
• Any other adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• Any two children regardless of sex aged under 10
• Any other child.

It is only the number of bedrooms that are counted. The number of living rooms, bathrooms etc, are not taken into account. Therefore, a single parent with a daughter aged 12 and a son aged 8 will have their benefit calculated from the LHA for a three bedroom accommodation.

Most single people under 35 are only allowed benefit based upon the LHA rate for shared accommodation. See the following link HousingBenefit_under35yearsAugust2011_v2.pdf(708KB)

A maximum of four bedrooms can be considered in your application, even if the size of your family would normally need more than four bedrooms.

Unless a claimant is vulnerable and will experience great difficulty managing rental payments, the LHA will be paid directly to them. If a claimant and their representative feels they are vulnerable, benefit can be paid to the landlord. The benefit payable to the landlord will not exceed the eligible rent. If the LHA is more than the rent, the excess will be paid to the claimant.

Any request for payment to a landlord will need to be supported by evidence from a third party. Information and evidence will be considered from, amongst others:

• Social Services
• DWP
• Reputable financial institutions
• Courts
• Support or advisory services, eg CAB
• A Doctor.

Evidence from a landlord alone cannot be considered sufficient and a decision to pay a landlord must be reviewed periodically.

Benefit can still be paid to the landlord if a tenant falls into arrears of eight weeks or more. Written proof of arrears will be required and so landlords should ensure they keep detailed records of the rent account.

Related Links

Local Housing Allowance rates
Landlord LHA information - FAQ
Local Housing Allowance Safeguard Policy
Housing Benefit changes from April 2011 (pdf - 89kb)
Department for Work and Pensions Q&A regarding some of the April 2011 changes