Local Housing Allowance
The way that housing benefit is paid to claimants in private rented accommodation changed with effect from 7 April 2008 for Bracknell Forest Council.
The new scheme has been in place for a number of years in some 'pathfinder' authorities in England, Wales and Scotland. From 7 April 2008 all other local authorities joined a similar scheme. The new scheme is called Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
- What is the Local Housing Allowance?
- Who is affected by the Local Housing Allowance?
- How are Local Housing Allowance payments worked out?
- Claimants under 25
- Single claimants aged over 25 or couples with no dependant children
- What is the length of Local Housing Allowance payments?
- How are payments of Local Housing Allowance made?
- Do I have any appeal rights?
What is the Local Housing Allowance?
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the new way of working out housing benefit for people who live in privately-rented accommodation.
LHA is a flat rate allowance based on the size of the household (not the size of the property) and the area in which a person lives. This avoids the need for the Rent Service to examine every property and decide on the level of rent that is eligible for housing benefit in each case.
Payment of benefit under the LHA rules is normally to the tenant, who will then pay the landlord.
Who is affected by the Local Housing Allowance?
All new claims made on or after 7 April 2008 except for the cases listed below:
- Registered Social Landlord (RSL) tenancies
- Protected cases such as supported housing provided by certain local authorities, registered social landlords, charities and voluntary organisations
- Tenancies that are excluded from current rent restrictions such as tenancies entered into prior to 15 January 1989
- Exceptional cases such as caravans, houseboats, tents, mobile homes and hostels
- Cases where the Rent Service judges that a substantial part of the rent is attributable to board and lodge, such as hotel accommodation
How are Local Housing Allowance payments worked out?
Each local authority is divided into Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA). Bracknell Forest Council has three Broad Market Rental Areas.
The Rent Service sets individual Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for up to five rooms in each of the BRMA areas.
These figures will be published by the local authority so that landlords and prospective LHA customers can find out the amount of rent that the LHA will cover.
If a customer finds a property that they like with a rent that exceeds their LHA they will need to make up the difference themselves. But if a customer finds somewhere with a rent below their allowance, they will be able to keep the difference up to a maximum of £15.00 a week.
The amount of LHA is dependant on the following factors:
- the number of rooms the customers needs
- the area that he or she lives in
- their income and savings
- whether someone lives with them who is not a dependant
The number of rooms that the tenant qualifies for (the size criteria) are one bedroom for every:
- adult couple (including civil partners)
- adult aged 16 or over
- any two children under age 10
- any two children of the same sex aged 10 to 15
- any other child
Joint tenants receive a proportion of the rate payable for a property of the size applicable to all the tenants together.
Most single claimants who are under 25 year of age are entitled to the standard rate for a room in shared accommodation where the tenant has a room or bedsit of their own with shared use of kitchen, bathroom, toilet and living room. This is known as the Shared Local Housing Allowance.
There are exceptions to this rule (including people who get the Severe Disability Premium).
Single claimants aged over 25 or couples with no dependant children
Single claimants aged over 25 years of age or couples with no dependant children are entitled the rate of a 2 room property.
However, if the claimant chooses to live in a property where all or some of the facilities are shared, for example kitchen, bathroom, living room and so on, they will only be entitled to the Shared Local Housing Allowance.
The two room rate only applies to any single person over the age of 25 years and couples without children so long as the claimant or partner has exclusive use of
- two or more rooms or
- one room, a kitchen or facilities for cooking, bathroom or toilet
What is the length of Local Housing Allowance Awards?
The length depends on the date of claim that your housing benefit is paid from and will continue to apply for a year unless there a relevant change in circumstance occurs.
There are three circumstances in which a Local Housing Allowance (LHA) may be updated within the year
- a change in the number of occupiers
- a change of address within the period of the LHA
- if there is a death in the household
How are payments of Local Housing Allowance made?
The payments are normally paid to the customer rather than the landlord. Safeguards will be put in place to protect the vulnerable.
Factors to be considered are:
- if the customer has difficulty managing their affairs
- if it is improbable that the customer would pay their rent.
If a claimant and their representative feel they are vulnerable, benefit may be paid to the landlord.
Any request for payment to a landlord will need to be supported by evidence from a third party. Information and evidence will be considered from, amongst others:
- Social Services
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Reputable financial institutions
- Courts
- Support or advisory services, eg, CAB
- Doctor
Evidence from a landlord alone cannot be considered sufficient, and a decision to pay a landlord must be reviewed periodically.
Benefit can still be paid to the landlord if a tenant falls into arrears of 8 weeks or more.
Written proof of arrears will be required and so landlords should ensure they keep detailed records of the rent account.
There is no right of appeal or redetermination about the levels of Local Housing Allowance (LHA), or Broad Market Rental Areas (BMRA).
There are still appeal rights against to whom payments are made.
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