Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) was introduced on 7 April
2008.
It is another way of working out new claims for Housing
Benefit for tenants renting accommodation from a private
landlord.
Customers who live in council accommodation or housing
association accommodation will not be affected by Local
Housing Allowance.
LHA is based on the area the customer lives, the number of
occupiers in the property, and household size. LHA is a much fairer
way of calculating housing benefit, as it ensures that tenants in
similar circumstances in the same area receive the same amount of
financial support for their housing costs.
Calculating the LHA rate
When LHA was introduced in April 2008 the LHA rates were
calculated based on the median rent within the market data.
From April 2011 the LHA rates have been calculated using the
30th percentile. This means that only
around 3 in 10 properties will be within a
customer's LHA rate as opposed to the current 5 in 10
properties.
For existing customers
there has been a transitional protection of up to nine months
following the claim anniversary date. This transitional protection
means that many existing customers will not be affected until
January 2012.
Protection will stop before the end of the nine months if:
- they move
- their LHA anniversary comes round, or
- their LHA rate needs changing due to a change in the
household
LHA Caps
From April 2011 the LHA rates in any area have been capped and
cannot exceed:
£250 per week for a one bedroom property
£290 per week for a two bedroom property
£340 per week for a three bedroom property
£400 per week for a four bedroom property
In Broxbourne the LHA rates have always been below
the caps.