Local Housing Allowance (LHA)
Information about Local Housing Allowance which takes effect from 7 April 2008
From 7 April 2008, people renting from a private landlord and changing address or making a new Housing Benefit Claim will have their benefit calculated under new rules known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
LHA rates
| 1 July 2008 - LHA rates - Outer South | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | |||||
| Shared | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
| 83.08 | 155.77 | 196.15 | 253.85 | 346.15 | 426.92 |
| Monthly | |||||
| Shared | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
| 360.01 | 675 | 849.98 | 1100.02 | 1499.98 | 1849.99 |
| 1 July 2008 - LHA rates - Crawley and Reigate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | |||||
| Shared | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
| 80 | 144.23 | 183.46 | 219.23 | 321.92 | 426.92 |
| Monthly | |||||
| Shared | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4 bed | 5 bed |
| 346.67 | 625 | 794.99 | 950 | 1394.99 | 1849.99 |
LHA details
Those not covered by the new LHA are:
- Council tenants
- Housing Association tenants
- tenants with a registered 'fair rent'
- pre 1989 tenancies
- tenancies provided by a charitable or voluntary organisation which include care, support and supervision
- tenants of caravans, mobile homes and houseboats.
For LHA, the Rent service's current valuations of individual accommodation will be replaced. Instead, the Rent Service will set a flat rate Local Housing Allowance for properties in the broad market area based upon the number of bedrooms. this will form the starting point of the Local Housing Allowance calculation.
Entitlement will still be assessed taking into account a claimant's income, capital and personal circumstances and thus maybe paid at a lower rate than the Rent Service's figure.
The Local Housing Allowance for differing sizes of accommodation will be set by the Rent Service each month and these details will be published by the Housing Benefit Service.
The rate is based on how many bedrooms are required for the number of people living in the property. It allows one bedroom for: -
- every adult couple
- any other adult aged 16 or over
- any two children of the same sex under 16
- any two children regardless of sex aged under 10
- any other child.
The Local Housing Allowance will be the rate for the month in which the claim starts. Unless there is some relevant change e.g. the birth of a child, that changes the amount of bedrooms needed for the household otherwise the Local Housing Allowance will be unchanged for 52 weeks.
It is only ther number of bedrooms that are counted. The number of living rooms, bathrooms etc. are not taken into account. therefore a single parent with a daughter of 12 and a son of 8 will have their benefit calculated from the Local Housing Allowance for a three bedroomed property.
It is intended that claimants will trade between quality and price of their accommodation; if a claimant's rent is less than the Local Housing Allowance they will keep the extra money paid to them in benefit (up to a maximum of £15 per week) however, if the rent is higher than the Local Housing Allowance the claimant will have to make up the extra payment themselves.
Payment methods will also change with the introduction of LHA.
Unless a claimant is vulnerable and will experience great difficulty managing their rental payments, or it is improbable that the claimant would pay their rent, the LHA will be paid directly to the claimant. If a claimant and their representative feels they are vulnerable, benefit can be paid to their landlord. the benefit payable to the landlord will not exceed the eligible rent. if the LHA is more than the rent the excess will be paid directly to the claimant. However, it would be possible to pay the extra money to the landlord if there were rent arrears, but the landlord would need to prove this to us.
Any request for payment to a lanlord will need to be supported by evidence from a third party. Information and evidence will be considered from, amongst others: -
- Social Services or Adult Social Care Teams
- DWP
- support or advisory services like the citizens advice bureau or our netwok of Help Shops
- GP
- family or friends.
Evidence from a landlord cannot be considered sufficient, and a decision to pay a landlord must be reviewed periodically.
To safeguard tenants and landlords, we have a policy to work to, which will ensure that any decisions are clear and fair.
Benefit can still be paid to the landlord if a tenant falls into arrears of 8 weeks or more. Written proof of the arrears will be required and so landlords should ensure they keep detailed records of the rent account.
If you would like more information about LHA please call 01737 276497 or see the Rent Service LHA Direct website (opens in new window).
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
Town Hall
Castlefield Road
Reigate
RH2 0SH
01737 276000
customer.services@reigate-banstead.gov.uk
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