Housing News

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Shared accommodation rate

If you are under 35 and single, the maximum housing benefit you can receive is the LHA shared accommodation rate (the rate for a room in a shared house). This is the case even if you rent a house or flat of your own. If you could afford the rent when you moved in and you have not claimed housing benefit in the past year, this restriction will not apply for the first 13 weeks of your claim.

Exceptions to the rule

The shared accommodation rate will also not apply if you live alone and:

• you are under 22 and have spent time in care since your 16th birthday
• you have a severe disability
• you are entitled to an extra bedroom for a non-resident carer
• you have spent at least three months in a hostel for homeless people (this can include women’s refuges and drug rehab hostels, and doesn’t have to be in one stay) and have accepted resettlement support (25- to 34-year-olds only)
• you have left prison and you are subject to ‘Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements’ (25- to 34-year-olds only)

If you are aged 25 to 34

Before 1 January 2012, the shared accommodation rate only applied to people under 25. If you are aged between 25 and 34 and you were already living in privately rented self-contained accommodation, you will be affected. If you claimed housing benefit:

• first on or after 1 April 2011, it will be reduced to the shared accommodation rate on the first anniversary of your claim
• before 1 April 2011, it will be reduced to the shared accommodation rate nine months after the first anniversary of your claim that falls on or after 1 April 2011
• and your 25th birthday is after 31 March 2011 and before 1 January 2012, your benefit will not be reduced to the shared accommodation rate until your 26th birthday

Contact us if you are unsure how much benefit you may lose, and when. If any loss causes you hardship, you can make a claim for discretionary housing payment from the council, but you cannot rely on getting this help.

Other situations

If you either share your accommodation with your partner, have a child who lives with you, or rent from a housing association or the council, the shared accommodation rate will not apply to you. Most people can claim housing benefit but you may not be entitled to it if you are a full-time student

For previous articles see the Housing News Archive

Last updated: 16th February 2012