Local Housing Allowance – Frequently Asked Questions
What is Local Housing Allowance?
LHA is a new way of working out Housing Benefit. LHA will
be based on the rent levels for the area in which a person wants to
live and on the number of people who live with them.
Like Housing Benefit, LHA is means tested, so the LHA rate you
are entitled to is the maximum amount of benefit you would get if
you were in receipt of a benefit such as Income Support, Job
Seeker’s Allowance (IB), or Guarantee Credit.
Who is affected by LHA?
Any person who rents from a landlord in the private sector and
makes a new claim for Housing Benefit, or changes address
(including a change of room within the same property), or has a
break in their claim on or after 7th April 2008, will come under
the LHA scheme.
Who isn’t affected by LHA?
A number of privately renting tenants will not be affected by
LHA. These are:
- Tenancies where the
landlord is a registered social landlord (housing
association).
- Supported accommodation
cases where the landlord is a registered charity or voluntary
organisation and the customer is provided with care, support and
supervision – but only where the landlord has overall
responsibility for the provision of the care.
- Tenancies that are
currently excluded from the Rent Officer rules (for example
pre-1989 tenancies)
- Exceptional cases such
as caravans, houseboats (including mooring charges), mobile homes,
hostels (including temporary bed and breakfast
accommodation)
- Cases where the Rent
Officer judges that a substantial part of the rent is attributable
to board and attendance (the Rent Officer will need to decide
this)
- Anyone who doesn’t move
or have a break in his or herclaim on or after 7th April
2008.
I am a council/housing association tenant will it
affect me?
No, you will not be affected by LHA, unless you move into the
private sector.
I have been getting housing benefit for some time and
don’t intend to move in the near future why don’t I get
LHA?
LHA only affects any new claims, changes of address, or breaks
in claims on or after 7th April 2008.
My LHA rate is higher than the rent on the new home I
am thinking of renting; will I be able to keep the
difference?
You will receive the LHA rate for your requirements regardless
of the amount of rent you are being charged – this is subject to a
£15 cap (for example your LHA rate is £95, your rent is £80 you
will receive £95 LHA. If your rent was only £75, you would
receive £90 LHA).
The rent for the new home I want to take on is higher
than my LHA rate; will I be able to get any more?
You are only entitled to the LHA rate that is applicable at the
time you make your claim. The Housing Benefit rules have not
changed with respect to Discretionary Housing Payments and you may
be entitled to more under that scheme. The idea of LHA is that you
know the maximum amount of benefit you will receive before taking
on a tenancy, and will therefore have more choice over where you
live.
I am under 25 and live by myself, what LHA rate will I
get?
If you are single and under 25 you are classed as a ‘young
individual’. Where you do not have a non-dependant living with you
or fall into the exempt categories (for example receive the Severe
Disability Premium or are care leavers under 22) you will only be
entitled to the LHA rate for a room in shared accommodation.
I am over 25 and live by myself, what LHA rate will I
get?
If you are living in self-contained accommodation, or have the
exclusive use of two or more rooms (bedrooms or living rooms), you
will be entitled to the 1 bedroom rate.
If you choose to live in shared accommodation, you will only be
entitled to the shared room rate.
I am a joint tenant with each of us liable for half of
the rent; what LHA rate will we get?
If you are a joint tenant you will only be entitled to the LHA
rate that is appropriate to your own household (including any
non-dependants, sub tenants or boarders).
Therefore, if it is just you in your household you will only be
entitled to the LHA rate for a room in shared accommodation.
This is because you only have exclusive use of one room and share
all the other rooms.
Your joint tenant will also only be entitled to the LHA rate for
a room in shared accommodation.
If either of you have a non-dependant living with you, the
person that the non-dependant ‘belongs’ to will be entitled to the
2 bedroom LHA rate.
In some cases the non-dependant will not ‘belong’ to any one
person in the joint tenancy and the LHA is unable to allocate the
non-dependant to a tenant. In these cases the non-dependant
is classed as part of each joint tenant’s household. Each
joint tenant is entitled to the 2 bedroom LHA rate and a
non-dependant deduction is then made from each joint tenant’s
claims (50% on each claim).
I have a non-dependant in my household; are they
included when deciding the LHA rate?
Yes, all household members including non-dependants are taken
into account when deciding your LHA rate. Under LHA you will need
to provide proof of residency for all your household members.
We are a couple and we are thinking of renting a room,
what LHA rate will we get?
You will only qualify for the one bedroom rate of LHA if you
have exclusive use of two rooms or more; or exclusive use of one
room, a bathroom, a toilet, and a kitchen or facilities for
cooking.
If you decide to rent a shared property you will only qualify
for the shared accommodation rate of LHA.
I am pregnant; will I get the LHA rate that includes
the new baby?
You will get the LHA rate applicable at the time that you make
your claim. If, after this time, a change in circumstances occurs
that means you would be entitled to a different number of bedrooms
you must let us know immediately. Your claim can then be
reassessed, and the new LHA rate will apply from the date of change
(the usual advantageous/disadvantageous rules still apply –
therefore, you have one month to notify us of any change that may
increase your entitlement to benefit, for it to be effective from
the date the change occurred).
I am getting LHA; can I have the rent paid to my
landlord?
No, the idea of LHA is to promote personal responsibility and
financial inclusion. Therefore, LHA will be paid direct to you and
not your landlord. The provision to have your rent paid directly to
your landlord no longer exists.
It is your responsibility to pay the rent to your landlord. The
best way to do this is for us to pay your LHA direct into your bank
account, and then for you to set up a regular payment to your
landlord by direct debit or standing order.
In some cases you can still receive your LHA payment by cheque –
although this is not recommended.
We recognise the risk that some tenants will struggle with the
responsibility of handling their financial affairs, or will be
unlikely to pay their rent, so safeguards have been put in place,
which may include payment direct to their landlord. (See our
Safeguard
Guidelines)
What happens if I am unable to receive direct payments,
because I don’t have a bank account?
We have been working very closely with the local banks and
building societies; they are very keen for you to visit them to
discuss any issues or queries that you may have about setting up a
bank account. For more information see
Paying benefit into your account, or download
a leaflet here.
In some cases LHA can still be paid by cheque – although this is
not recommended.
What happens if I don’t want to receive direct
payments, because I’m concerned I may spend the
money?
Safeguards will be put in place to protect anyone that may have
difficulty managing their financial affairs or who will be unlikely
to pay their rent.
Each case for safeguarding will be looked at on its own merit,
but it needs to be remembered that the aim of LHA is to promote
personal responsibility and financial inclusion; therefore, not
everyone will fall under the safeguard scheme.
(see our Safeguard
Guidelines)
I am a landlord and my tenant gets LHA; can I have payments
made direct to me?
No. In most cases, payments made under LHA will be paid directly
to your tenant.
If you have evidence to suggest that your tenant may need
to be safeguarded, please print and fill in the Direct payment to landlord
request and provide the relevant documentary
evidence.
We are a registered charity; will our tenants have
their rent paid direct?
If you provide supported accommodation, and the overall
responsibility of the provision of the support is yours, then the
LHA scheme will not apply to your tenants and Housing Benefit will
still be paid direct to you (if requested).
If you do not provide supported accommodation, and your tenant
makes a new claim, changes address, or has a break in their claim
on or after 7th April 2008, then the LHA scheme will apply to them.
This means that benefit payments will be made directly to your
tenant, unless they are safeguarded.
I am a landlord, my tenant gets LHA but has not paid
the rent; what do I do?
Contact us immediately once your tenant has missed their first
payment. We can then make enquiries with your tenant.
If your tenant is 8 weeks or more in arrears, payments of LHA
can be made directly to you until the arrears have been
cleared.
If I am on LHA and I have had a rent increase, do I
need to notify the Council, and will I get any more
benefit?
You will need to notify the Council of any changes in your
circumstances.
However, your LHA rate will only change if the category you are
entitled to changes. If no changes occur, your LHA will be
reassessed once a year (this is called your anniversary date) and
the LHA rate in force on that date will be used.
If I am getting ordinary Housing Benefit, but know I
would get more with LHA; is there any way I can get switched over,
for example if I withdraw my claim for a week and
reapply?
You will change to LHA if you are in privately rented
accommodation and you change address or have a break in our claim
on or after 7th April 2008.
If I am on Housing Benefit and there is a change in my
family make up, for example a new baby, will I be switched to
LHA?
No. The only time you would change to LHA would be if you were a
private tenant and you made a new claim, changed address or had a
break in your claim on or after 7th April 2008.
There are ineligible services such as heating,
lighting, and hot water; do I get the whole LHA or will some money
be taken off for services?
Service charges will not be deducted under LHA even when the
full contractual rent is being paid.
If I claim after 7th April 2008, but then my claim is
backdated to before that date, will I get LHA or Housing
Benefit?
If your claim is backdated to a date before LHA was introduced
(7th April 2008), it comes under Housing Benefit rules.
If I am getting LHA and someone moves in or out of my
house, or a baby is born, will this change which LHA rate I
get?
If a change occurs which might entitle you to a different
category of allowance (for example the number of bedrooms you
require has changed) then your LHA rate will change.
Why, when the LHA rates change every month, does my
benefit stay the same; when will my claim be changed to the new
rate?
Your LHA rate will only change if the category you are entitled
to changes. If no changes occur your LHA will be reassessed once a
year (this is called your anniversary date) and the LHA rate in
force on that date will be used.
When working out which LHA rate applies, how do I work
out how many rooms I am allowed?
The following applies to couples, couples with children, single
parents, and single people over 25.
One bedroom is allowed for:
- An adult
couple
- Any other adult (aged 16
or over)
- Any two children of the
same sex, aged under 16
- Any two children of
different sex, aged under 10
- Any other
child
Where can I get more information?
If you want to know more about LHA and how it
affects you:
- phone the Benefits Service on 577552
- visit the Benefits Service at Thanet’s Gateway
Plus
- look on this website
- email us at benefits@thanet.gov.uk
- visit www.direct.gov.uk