What is Local Housing Allowance and does it affect you? (My Experiencs and Advice)

Name: thegreengoblin

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Product:	My Experiencs and Advice
Date:	28.03.08 (43 review reads)
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Advantages: More choice for tenants

Disadvantages: none

This review is not on local goverment but based on the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance that I have just heard about.

The below is an important change that takes place from April 08 regarding the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance and may be of interest to anyone who claims housing benefit or landlords who receive housing benefit. It is in my simple terms what it involves, for more information regarding Local Housing Allowance I suggest you contact your local authority.


Local Housing Allowance is a new way of calculating and paying Housing Benefit for people who rent from a private landlord. Local Housing Allowance has been around since November 2003 and has now been tested in 18 local authorities known as pathfinders which included Edinburgh,Leeds,Blackpool and Norwich.

However from 07 April 2008 Local Housing Allowance has been rolled out nationally.

So who does it affect?

Local Housing Allowance will only apply to tenants who live in properties rented from private landlords, and who are making their first claim, moving address, or have a break in their claim of more than a week, after 7th April 2008.

It will not apply to you if:

You rent your home from the Council
You live in a caravan, mobile home, houseboat or hostel
You claim benefit for help with mooring fees
Your tenancy started before 1989
The Rent Officer decides that a large amount of your rent is paid for board.
You are a Housing Association Tenant

How Is LHA is calculated?

The Local Housing Allowance is calculated by the Rent Service for individual areas, known as Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs), each month.
Different LHA rates will apply in different areas and our based on the median rent charged by private sector landlords for properties of various sizes. The figures calculated by the Rent Officer for the Broad Rental Market Areas will be published each month and should be available from local authorities.

Once the Rent Service has determined the rates for an area, an individual customer's benefit will depend on their age and the size of the household. Size criteria will be based on allowing one bedroom for:

Every adult couple
Every adult who is not part of a couple
Any other adult aged 16 or over
Any two children of the same sex
Any two children regardless of sex under 10
Any other child

The number of living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms are ignored for the purpose of the size criteria.

However if you are a single person under 25 will only be entitled to the shared rate LHA.
If you are over 25 with or without a partner and you have no children then you will be entitled to the shared rate if you live in shared accommodation or the 2-room rate if you live in self-contained accommodation.

Joint tenants will receive a rate of Local Housing Allowance based solely on the individual joint tenants family plus any non-dependants, sub-tenants or boarders that they live with.


Local Housing Allowance once awarded lasts for twelve months unless you're circumstances change which changes your above size criteria. Also how much Local Housing Allowance you receive still depends on looking at your income and savings, as is the way with the current Housing Benefit Scheme.

What if the Rent you pay is less than the Local Housing Allowance?

One of the objectives of the scheme is to give you more choice. If you decide to
Rent accommodation that is cheaper than the allowance, then you can keep the difference up to £15.

What if the Rent you pay is more than the Local Housing Allowance?

If you decide to rent somewhere more expensive than your Local Housing Allowance you receive then you must pay the difference from your other income. You have no right of appeal against the levels off Local Housing Allowance determined by the Rent Officer. However you will have the right to dispute any decision that the Council has made when calculating your claim.
Payment of Housing Benefit?
Payment of benefit under the Local Housing Allowance rules will normally be made to the claimant. It is the claimants responsibility to pay the rent to your landlord. Only in exceptional circumstances will payment be made direct to your Landlord.
Benefit payments for Local Housing Allowance will be made every four weeks (in arrears) directly into a bank or building society account. Most people will find this the easiest way so you can set up a standing order to pay your landlord.
If you don't have a bank account you can open a basic bank account at most bank or building societies. If someone else looks after the your money for you or has power of attorney, payment of Housing Benefit can be made to them.

Summary: If you claim housing benefit as a private teant you must read this ?