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 (Income-Based), 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 7 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 her claim 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 7 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?

No, you will receive the amount of rent you are charged.

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 35 and live by myself, what LHA rate will I get?

If you are single and under 35 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 35 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). See also Changes to non-dependant deductions

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. See also Changes to non-dependant deductions

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. As we only pay LHA by BACS direct into your bank account, the best way for you to do this is to set up a regular payment to your landlord by direct debit or standing order.

In special 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 PDF)

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.

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 PDF)

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 (PDF) 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?

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 35.

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

If you are single and under 35 years old and do not have a dependant or non-dependant living with you as part of your household, you will only be entitled to the shared room rate. Single claimants aged 35 years old and over, care leavers under 22 years old and childless couples will qualify for the one bedroom rate of LHA, but only if they have either exclusive use of two or more rooms, or exclusive use of one room, a bathroom, a toilet, and a kitchen or facilities for cooking.