In April 2008 a new way of working out Housing Benefit for most private sector tenants was introduced, called Local Housing Allowance.
The Government has announced some important changes to Local Housing Allowance which may affect the amount of Housing Benefit you will receive after 1st April 2011.
For details of the changes please click on the following link:
Important changes to LHA from 1st April 2011
Local Housing Allowance
LHA is based on the location of the property and its household size rather than the actual rent being charged. LHA will take into account the number of bedrooms required by the claimant and their household. Claimants with similar circumstances will find that in the majority of cases they are entitled to the same rate of benefit regardless of the rent they pay.
Rates of LHA
The number of people living in the property will determine the rate of LHA that is used to calculate a claimant’s Housing Benefit. To find out more about this, please see our LHA Size criteria page.
The rent service will set the LHA rates at the end of each month. To find out the current rates for LHA in your areas, please click on the following link - LHA rates.
The rates set by The Rent Service each month are the maximum amounts. The actual amount a claimant will receive depends on their income, savings and circumstances, and the current benefit calculation will apply.
Housing Benefit is based on the rate of LHA that has been set that month and will be reviewed after a year unless there is a change in the claimants circumstances which may entitle the claimant to a different category of allowance, e.g. if there was a change in the number of occupiers.
How LHA is paid
Housing benefit paid under LHA rules will almost always be paid direct to the claimant. However there are certain circumstances when this is not the case.
The LHA, in line with the aims of the scheme, will normally be paid to the claimant rather than the landlord. Tenants who receive benefit calculated using LHA rates should be able to take greater responsibility for managing their financial affairs and paying their rent to their landlords, in the same way as other tenants do. This is why any benefit will usually be paid to the tenant and not to the landlord.
As some tenants may struggle with the responsibility of budgeting for, and paying, their rent, safeguards have been put into place so that Local Authorities have the discretion to make payments to the landlord if they consider it appropriate or if you are more than 8 weeks in arrears with your rent. If you feel you are unable to manage your own affairs and would like your payments to be paid directly to your landlord please print off and complete a LHA- request to pay landlord form.
Claimants unaffected by LHA
LHA rules apply to deregulated private tenancies. They not apply to:
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Registered Social Landlords
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Some supported housing (where care support or supervision is provided by or on behalf of the landlord)
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Tenancies which started before 15 January 1989
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Houseboats, caravans or hostels
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Tenancies where the Rent Officer had decided that a substantial part of the rent is for board and lodging
