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.

 

Some properties will have a rent lower than the amount of LHA you can get. If you live in one of these, you can still get the same amount of LHA and you can keep the difference up to a maximum amount of £15 per week. This will not affect any other social security benefits you get.

 

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 Rent 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.


From the information that is collected the figure that is at the mid-point of these rents will be the figure that is used as the LHA. Rent officers will continually monitor the local rent market and update the LHA figures for each BRMA every month.

 

We will be advised of these every month.  In Broxbourne there will only be 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 25 or over and live alone

If you are 25 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 25 years who live alone

If you are aged under 25 and live alone you can only get 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