LHA Information
What’s different about Local
Housing Allowance (LHA)?
You will usually get any LHA paid to you and
you will have to pay your rent to your landlord. Knowing the amount
of LHA will let you work out what rent you can afford. So when you
are looking for somewhere to live you can work out how much money
you will have. Then you can choose a place that suits you.
How much Local
Housing Allowance can I get?
The amount of LHA you can get depends on:
- who lives with you
- what area you live in
- what money you have coming in
- what savings you have
How Is LHA worked
out?
LHA isn’t based on the amount of rent that is
paid but the area you live in which is known as a ‘Broad Rental
Market Area’ (BRMA), and the number of rooms required by the
household. These figures will be supplied by The Valuation
Office every month.
BRMA (Broad rental market area) – This is
the area used to set the level of LHA for a property with a certain
number of rooms. This is worked out by taking a wide range of
properties and tenancy types from a number of neighbourhoods.
In this area there will be a wide mix of property types within a
reasonable distance of various public amenities such as health,
education, recreation, personal banking and shopping. This will not
take into account any rents from this area that are unusually high
or low.
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
We will be advised of these every
month. In Broxbourne there is only one BRMA.
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 regardless of sex under 10
- any two children of the same sex aged under 16
- or for any other child.
You are entitled to the following living
rooms
- One - three people are allowed one living room
- Four - six people are allowed two living rooms
- Seven or more people are allowed three living rooms
If you are aged
35 or over and live alone
If you are 35 or over and live alone you can
get the rate for a two-roomed property if you rent a self contained
property with at least two rooms. For example, this could be a
one-bedroom flat.
If you choose to live in a property where all
or some of the facilities are shared, you can only get the shared
Local Housing Allowance rate. Shared facilities could be a living
room, kitchen or bathroom.
Claimants aged
under 35 years who live alone
If you are aged under 35 and live alone you
are only entitled to the shared Local Housing Allowance
rate.
Dependants and
non-dependants
If you claim Local Housing Allowance you can
only get it for yourself and your dependants. If you share a
property we will make a deduction for facilities you share with any
non-dependants. The rules for this are the same as the rules for
Housing Benefit.
Joint
tenants
If you claim Local Housing Allowance you can
only get it for yourself and your dependants. If you are a joint
tenant we will make a deduction for any non-dependants and
sub-tenants. The rules for this are the same as the rules for
Housing Benefit. By joint tenant we mean someone who has an
agreement with the landlord to share the rent with other tenants.
Ask us if you want more information about this.
How long will my
LHA last?
Once your award of Housing Benefit has been
calculated using the appropriate rate of LHA, this rate will last
for 12 months unless there is a change of circumstances that
results in a new rate being used (for example, a child is born and
you require an extra bedroom). If there has been no
change in circumstances, your benefit will be re-assessed after 12
months based on the LHA rate that applies at that time.
How will Local
Housing Allowance be paid?
In most cases we will pay LHA directly to you.
You cannot choose to have your LHA paid direct to your landlord.
The easiest way is to have it paid into a bank or building society
account.
If you have a bank or building society account
you can arrange for your bank or building society to pay your rent
direct to your landlord. If you do not have an account you should
take steps to open one.
Even if you cannot open a current account you
should be able to open a basic bank account.
For more information about basic bank accounts
visit the Financial
Services Website