Local Housing Allowance - Tenants Questions
For details on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) changes from
April 2011, please click on the link below:
LHA
Changes April 2011
- What is Local Housing Allowance (
LHA
)?
- I do not have a bank account and the council now want to pay my
Housing Benefit directly to me. What can I do?
- Are the rates the same wherever I live in Bromsgrove?
- What are tenants entitled to?
- What are single tenants living in bedsit, or other non self
contained, accommodation entitled to?
- How will tenants manage if they are unable to cope with paying
rent?
1.What is Local Housing Allowance (
LHA
)?
LHA are a set of monthly rates that are set by The Rent Service
for different sized properties. They are based on the mid-point
between the highest and lowest rental value for properties of a
given size in the area (those rents which are exceptionally high or
low are disregarded).
2.I do not have a bank account and the council now want
to pay my Housing Benefit directly to me. What can I
do?
The council and the government are promoting the use of basic
bank accounts for tenants receiving benefit. The use of standing
orders and direct debits are an easy and effective way of managing
money and mean that you do not need to wait for cheques to
clear.
3.Are the rates the same wherever I live in
Bromsgrove?
No, there are four Broad Rental Market Areas, set by the Rent
Officer Service, within the Bromsgrove district. Each of these
areas have different rates of
LHA
payable.
4.What are tenants entitled to?
The LHA that you can qualify for depends upon the number of
people that live in your household. The following size criteria is
used to determine the appropriate number of rooms that the
household needs.
One bedroom each for:
- every adult couple (same or opposite sex)
- any other adult (over 16)
- any two children under 10
- any two children of the same sex aged 10 to 15
- or for any other child
For example, if a property is occupied by a couple and their 14
year old son, they will be entitled to the rate for a two room
property
Tenants are entitled to the same monthly
LHA
rate from the start of their
claim for a year (unless household circumstances change). On the
anniversary of the start date of the claim, the benefit will be
updated to the LHA rate applicable to that month. The LHA rate can
also be reviewed if a rent increase is included in the original
Tenancy Agreement.
5.What are single tenants living in bedsit, or other non
self contained, accommodation entitled to?
There is a category of LHA for shared accommodation, which is
applied where the tenant does not have exclusive use of more than
one room and shares any, or all, of a kitchen, a room suitable for
living in, a bathroom or a toilet. It also applies to joint
tenants.
All single claimants under 35 are entitled to the shared rent,
whether or not they are the sole occupier
Couples (same, or opposite sex) or claimants over 35 living in
self contained one room accommodation (studio flats) will receive
the one room
LHA
.
6.How will tenants manage if they are unable to cope
with paying rent?
It is recognised that some tenants may struggle with the
responsibility of all their financial budgeting and therefore some
safeguards are in place. The council will have the discretion to
make payments to landlords where there is evidence that the
customer would be unlikely to pay their rent and making direct
payments would be in the interests of the customer.
The council is required to make payments directly to the
landlord if a tenant builds up rent arrears of eight weeks or
more.
