Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

What is Local Housing Allowance (LHA)?

LHA is a simplified housing benefit system for people on benefits or low incomes who rent from private landlords. LHA is based on the number of rooms people are allowed, not how much the rent is. The number of rooms allowed depends on who lives with the tenant.

You are allowed one bedroom for:

• every adult couple;
• any other adult aged 16 or over;
• any two children of the same sex;
• any two children aged under 10;
• any other child
• to a maximum of five bedrooms for LHA entitlement*

*Please note from 6 April 2009 no new claimant or claimant moving address can receive LHA for more than the five bedroom rate.  Please contact us for further advice on this.

You may not get the standard rate of LHA if you share some or all of the facilities in a property.  Shared facilities could be a living room, kitchen or bathroom.  If you share some or all of the facilities you may get the shared LHA rate.  This is for tenants who have a bedroom of their own but share all or some of the facilities.

If you are part of a couple who have no children living with you, you can get the rate for a one bedroom property if you rent a self contained property.  If you are part of a couple with no children living with you, and you choose to live in a property where all or some of the facilities are shared, you can only get the shared LHA rate.

If you are aged 25 or over and live alone, you can get the rate for a one roomed property.  For claimants under 25 who live alone, you can only get the shared LHA rate.

Who will be affected by local housing allowance?

LHA came into force on 7th April 2008 and only affects those tenants renting from a private landlord who either:

• Make a NEW claim for housing benefit, or
• Have a break in their housing benefit entitlement of one week or more.

If you are a private tenant and were already in receipt of Housing Benefit on 7 April 2008 you will not be affected by LHA unless there is a break in your housing benefit entitlement or you move and enter into a new private tenancy agreement.

Who will not be affected by local housing allowance?

The new rules will not apply to:

• Local authority tenants.
• Tenants of registered social landlords (Housing Associations).
• Tenants who have a registered or 'fair' rent.
• Tenants whose tenancies commenced before January 1989.
• Protected tenants, such as those in supported housing provided by social landlords, charities or voluntary organisations.
• Tenants with tenancies of caravans, mobile homes, houseboats or hostels.

How much LHA (Housing Benefit) will I get?

The LHA rates are set by an independent rent officer, based on local rents.  The country is split into areas called Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs).  Each BRMA is made up of at least two distinct but adjoining areas of accommodation which allow access to health, education, recreation, personal banking and shopping and contains a variety of types of premises and tenancies. Shepway District Council has three BRMAs within its district.   The majority of properties in the Shepway area are in the Shepway/Dover BRMA, however if your property is near the Shepway boundary you should make enquiries as to which BRMA your property is in.  You can do this by phoning Shepway Customer Services on 01303 853555 or by using the BRMA search facility on the LHA web site

The following tables show the maximum amounts for each Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) and size criteria applicable for the periods 1 August - 31 August 2010 and 1 September - 30 September 2010.  The LHA rate that will apply to you will depend on the date you make your claim or in the case of a backdated claim the date we treat your claim as made and will usually last for 12 months.  These are the maximum amounts for each BRMA and size criteria.  The actual amount of Housing Benefit you get will depend on your household, income and savings. 

LHA Rates 1 September - 30 September 2010

Maximum LHA (£ per week)

Maximum LHA (£ per month)

LHA Rates 1 August - 31 August 2010

Maximum LHA (£ per week)

Maximum LHA (£ per month)

If you are unsure of how many bedrooms your household would qualify for please contact us. 

A bedroom calculator and BRMA search facility is available on the LHA website.

How will I receive LHA payments?

Payments of LHA (housing benefit) will be made directly to your bank account by BACs transfer and it will then be your responsibility to pay the full rent to your landlord.  Shepway District Council is unable to provide financial or legal advice to individuals.  However if you do not currently have a bank account and/or need to open one we do hold stocks of leaflets produced by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which may help you choose a bank account which best suits your needs.  Copies of these leaflets can be obtained by contacting customer services.  Advice on opening a bank account can also be found on the FSA web site.

If you think you will struggle with the responsibility of paying your rent direct to your landlord, safeguards are in place whereby the Benefits Section can decide whether it is in your interest for them to pay your landlord direct.  
sdc-local-housing-allowance-safeguard-policy-2010

If you would like us to consider the possibility of having Local Housing Allowance paid directly to a landlord please contact us for further advice and information. You will also need to complete a direct payment to landlord form:
  direct-payment-to-landlord-form.

General leaflets on LHA and other housing benefit related subjects are available in English and a range of languages and can be found on the National Leaflet web site.