Local Housing Allowance

What is Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a new scheme for the way in which Housing Benefit claims for privately rented properties are treated. Following a successful pilot, the LHA scheme was implemented throughout the country on 7 April 2008.

Who can get LHA?

The LHA scheme currently runs alongside the Housing Benefit scheme. From 7 April 2008 people making a new claim for privately rented properties are covered by the new LHA scheme. Existing Housing Benefit customers continue on their current scheme until they change address, or their claim ends for one week or more and they make a new one.

LHA does not affect:

• Registered social landlord tenancies.
• Protected cases, such as supported housing provided by certain local authorities, social landlords, charities and voluntary organisations.
• Tenancies which are excluded from current rent restrictions (such as pre-1989 tenancies).
• Exceptional cases such as caravans, houseboats and hostels.
• Cases where the Rent Officer judges that a substantial part of the rent is attributable to board and attendance.

How much LHA will I get?

The LHA is set each month by the Rent Service and gives allowances for households who need up to six rooms. Tenants receive the LHA based on the number of rooms their household needs, not the number of rooms in the property they rent, or the rent that they are charged.  These rates are reviewed monthly and will be published on this website.

Please note, a Local Housing Allowance is the weekly amount that is used in your Benefit calculation and is not a decision on how much help you will receive.  How much Benefit you are entitled to is determined by the income, capital and circumstances of you and your household.

Please click here for our current LHA rates.

LHA rates

The LHA rates applicable to all areas covered by Bromsgrove District Council can be found at the LHA Direct website .

The LHA rate that your Housing Benefit is based on will be the rate at the date you make your claim.  This rate will last for one year and will not change unless your household circumstances change. After one year your LHA rate is updated and your Benefit claim will be re-assessed to take into account the up to date amounts.  Please note, the LHA rate is the amount used in the calculation of your Housing Benefit and is not necessarily the amount you will receive.  Any changes to your or your households circumstances will affect the amount of Benefit you receive, even if the LHA rate does not change.

How many rooms am I allowed?

You are allowed one bedroom for :-

• each adult couple
• any other adult (aged 16 or over)
• any two children under 10
• any two children of the same sex aged 10 to 15
• or for any other child

No other rooms are taken into account when this is worked out. For example :-

Family C are entitled to three bedrooms. If they choose to rent a property with two bedrooms their benefit will still be worked out using the three room LHA.

Single people over 35 years old and couples with no children:

If you are single and over 35, or a couple with no children, you will get the one room LHA but the property must be self contained. This means that the accommodation has its own bathroom/toilet and kitchen. If the property is not self contained you will be entitled to the shared room LHA only.

Single people under 35:

If you are single and under 35 you get the shared room LHA no matter what size of property you rent.

Joint tenants

Joint tenants are people who are not a couple but share a property and are named on the tenancy agreement. Joint tenants will get the LHA for their own household not including the family of the other joint tenants.

Payments of LHA

The first payment of LHA on a new claim can normally be made in the form of a cheque, made payable to the landlord and sent to the tenants address. The first payment is usually made this way because it can be for a higher amount than the usual four weekly payment, thus making sure that the tenant does not fall into arrears.

It also lets the landlord and tenant contact each other and arrange for regular rent payments. It gives the tenant more time to make arrangements to accept future payments in a more convenient way (for example, opening a bank account and setting up standing orders etc..)

After the first payment, payments will normally be made direct to the tenant every two weeks in arrears. This is a major difference between LHA and the current scheme as in most cases LHA must be paid directly to the tenant. There are exceptions to this which are discussed in the safeguards section that follows.

Landlords will need to make arrangements with their tenant to collect the rent. Most people find that the best way is for the tenant to allow us to pay their LHA directly into their bank or building society account. Tenants can then set up a standing order to pay their landlord every four weeks. We can also make payments fortnightly in arrears where payments are being made direct to the tenant.

Bank Accounts

You should be able to open an account either at a bank or building society to receive your LHA . If you are having difficulties opening an account, please let us know as we may be able to help you.

Basic Bank Account Information  (551.23 KB)

Safeguards

Some people may have difficulty receiving LHA and paying their rent. Payments of LHA can be made directly to a landlord, if

• we consider that a tenant is unlikely to pay their rent
• we think that a tenant cannot handle their own affairs
• we can also make payment directly to landlords where a tenant is more than 8 weeks in arrears with their rent

Payments to landlords can only be made four weekly in arrears, we are unable to pay fortnightly.

If someone else looks after your money for you, or there is a power of attorney, payments can be made to the person who looks after your money, or the person with the power of attorney.

Application for Direct Payment of LHA  (227.12 KB)

Help and Advice

If you have any queries about LHA more information can be found on the Department of Works and Pensions website .

The Citizens Advice Bureau  also provide information and assistance.

Please also see:

 LHA Information for Tenants  (181.16 KB)

 LHA Information for Landlords  (181.44 KB)

 Tenants - Frequently asked questions.

 Landlords - Frequently asked questions.