Local Housing Allowance

From 7 April 2008 a new way of working out Housing Benefit will be introduced called Local Housing Allowance (LHA). This will replace the current way we work out Housing Benefit for private tenants.

What is Local Housing Allowance?

If you rent from a private landlord and make a new claim for Housing Benefit or move home on or after 7 April 2008 we will use Local Housing Allowance to work out your Housing Benefit. Your benefit will be calculated using the appropriate Local Housing Allowance rate for your household.

Local Housing Allowance rates are set each month for different size properties by The Rent Service. The rate you will be entitled to will be based on the number of people who live with you and their ages. Local Housing Allowance is the maximum amount you can receive and this will reduce depending on your income, savings and circumstances.

You will not be affected by these changes if:

you rent your property from a Housing Association (including Luminus Homes)
your rent has been registered as a "fair rent"
your tenancy started from before 1989
your tenancy includes the provision of care, support or supervision and this is provided by a local authority, social landlord, charity or voluntary organisation
your accommodation is a caravan, mobile home or houseboat
your rent includes a substantial amount for board (food) and attendance, such as a private hostel

You will be affected by Local Housing Allowance if you are:

a private tenant making a new claim for Housing Benefit from 7 April 2008 onwards
an existing tenant who changes address to a private tenancy
a private tenant who has a break in entitlement with their existing claim

How are the Local Housing Allowance rates worked out?

Huntingdonshire has been divided into 3 areas called Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA's) by The Rent Service. See the map opposite for a guide to where the BRMA's fall.

The Rent Service look at all the rent levels each month for private rented properties in our area. From these figures the Local Housing Allowance rates are worked out.

Your property will fall into one of these Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA's). The Local Housing Allowance that applies to your property may be different to a similar property in another part of Huntingdonshire. You can use the link opposite to The Rent Service LHA website to find out which area your accommodation falls into.

You cannot appeal against the Local Housing Allowance rates set by The Rent Service.

Details of the Local Housing Allowance rates for the 3 BRMA areas are shown opposite and are also available at our offices.

Which Local Housing Allowance applies to you?

From the monthly Local Housing Allowance rates we will work out which rate we should use to calculate your benefit. This will be based on:

where you live
who lives with you

The calculation for Local Housing Allowance allows you one bedroom for:

every adult couple
any other adult (person aged 16 or over)
any two children aged under 10
any two children of the same sex aged 10 to 15
or any other children

We do not take any other rooms into consideration when your Local Housing Allowance rate is worked out.

For more details on how Local Housing Allowance rates are worked out see "Examples of allowed bedrooms under LHA" opposite. Or you can use the room calculator opposite to find out which room rate will apply to you.

What if you are a single person aged 16-24?

If you are single and aged 16-24 and live alone we will use the standard rate for a bedroom in shared accommodation no matter what size of property you rent.

If you receive the disability premium in your benefit assessment and are aged under 25 or are a Care leaver aged under 22, we will use the Local Housing Allowance rate for a one bedroom property.

If you are a joint tenant(s)

Joint tenants are people who are not a couple but share a property and are each named on the tenancy agreement. A joint tenant who claims will get the Local Housing Allowance rate based solely on their own family details. It will not include the other joint tenant(s) and members of their family.

The Local Housing Allowance rate at the date of claim will normally apply for one year. If your household circumstances change then you must tell us straight away.

How much benefit will I get?

There are no changes to the Housing Benefit entitlement rules. How much benefit you get is still based on your financial circumstances and proof of a valid tenancy agreement. The rent we use in the benefit calculation will be the Local Housing Allowance figure based on the number of bedrooms your household needs. It will not be based on the number of rooms in the property or on the rent you are charged.

The Local Housing Allowance is the maximum benefit you could receive towards the rent. If your benefit entitlement using the Local Housing Allowance is more than the rent charged, you can keep the difference of up to £15 per week.

If your benefit entitlement is below the rent charged you may be entitled to extra help under the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme. More details about Discretionary Housing Payments are given opposite along with an application form.

Payment of Housing Benefit

Payment of benefit under the Local Housing Allowance rules will normally be made to you (the tenant). It is your 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 you have difficulty opening an account please look at the "money made clear" link or contact us.

If someone else looks after your money for you or has power of attorney, payment of Housing Benefit can be made to them.

Safeguard rules

Some people may have difficulty managing their financial affairs and may struggle to use their benefit to pay their rent. However, payments can only be made direct to a Landlord in certain circumstances, some of which are shown below:

if you are more than 8 weeks in arrears with your rent
if we can establish you are unlikely to pay your rent
if we can establish you cannot handle your own affairs
Before we make payments to a Landlord on your behalf under the safeguard rules we will ask for more information. We may need to write to you or someone else acting on your behalf.

Our Safeguard & Vulnerability policy is shown opposite.