LOCAL HOUSING ALLOWANCE

A new form of Housing Benefit called Local Housing Allowance was introduced from 7th April 2008.  This is for tenants who rent properties from private landlords.

What is Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance is a new way of working out Housing Benefit, and is for people on a low income who rent from private landlords.  Local Housing allowance is based on the number of rooms people are allowed (the number of rooms depends who lives with the tenant), not how much the rent is and in which area the person lives.  Our Local Authority will be divided into three Broad Rental Market Areas, Rent Officers will set individual Local Housing Allowance rates for each area.  We will publish these figures on our website and around the district.

Broad Rental Market Areas and Local Housing Allowance Rates

As previously stated, Hart District Council is divided into three Broad Market Rental Areas (BRMAs). Which Broad Rental Market Area an address falls into is determined by the postcode. To find out the Broad Rental Market Area a property is in, please click on the link below:

lha-direct.voa.gov.uk

The Local Housing Allowance rates are determined by the Broad Rental Market Area a property falls into and the number of bedrooms required by the household. The Rent Service will review Local Housing Allowance rates on a monthly basis. The Local Housing Allowance rates applied when calculating Housing Benefit entitlement will be dependant on the date the claim is received or treated as being received.

The Local Housing Allowance rates from April 2013 to March 2014 are as follows:

Blackwater Valley

Type of Rooms	Weekly Rate £	Monthly Rate £
shared room	73.89	320.19
one bedroom	138.46	599.99
two bedrooms	173.08	750.01
three bedrooms	206.54	895.01
four bedrooms	300.00	1300.00

Basingstoke

Type of Rooms	Weekly Rate £	Monthly Rate £
shared room	64.90	281.23
one bedroom	132.67	574.90
two bedrooms	161.54	700.00
three bedrooms	188.68	817.61
four bedrooms	253.85	1100.02

Reading

Type of Rooms	Weekly Rate £	Monthly Rate £
shared room	75.00	325.00
one bedroom	150.00	650.00
two bedrooms	184.62	800.02
three bedrooms	211.15	914.98
four rooms	300.00	1300.00

The rates will be available on our website about  a week prior to the beginning of the month.

You can use the following information as a guide to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to.

You are entitled to one bedroom for:

• every adult couple (married or unmarried)
• any other adult aged 16 or over
• any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• any two children aged under 10
• any other child.

There are extra rules if you are:

• aged 35 or over, single and do not live with any dependants;  
• aged under 35, single and do not live with any dependants;  
• a couple and do not live with any dependants;
• living in shared accommodation;r
• a care leaver aged under 22;  
• are severely disabled;
• a joint tenant.

This may affect the benefit you can get. For more information about this, please get in touch with us.on 01252 774444 or by email benefit@hart.gov.uk  

Changes to Local Housing Allowance from 1 April 2011

There are important changes to Local Housing Allowance from April 2011, which are being introduced by the Government.

What is changing?

Upper Limits for LHA rates

There will be upper limits for each LHA rate. The upper limits will be:

• £250 per week for a one bedroom property (including shared accommodation)
• £290 per week for a two bedroom property
• £340 per week for a three bedroom property
• £400 per week for a four bedroom property

The maximum rate will be limited to a four bedroom rate, as the five bedroom rate is being abolished.

As the LHA rates in Hart are lower than the upper limits, it is unlikely this change will affect you.

Abolition of the £15.00 weekly excess

The maximum £15 weekly Housing Benefit excess that some people now receive will end. This means you will not be able to get more money from Housing Benefit than the amount you pay in rent.

The way the LHA rates are calculated

The method used to calculate LHA rates is changing. This is likely to result in the rates being lower than they are now. The current calculation is based on the median (or middle value) of market rents, the new calculation will be based on a lower percentage (30th percentile) of market rents.

Please see the table above for LHA rates.

Extra bedroom allowance for overnight carers

If you need a carer staying with you overnight on a regular basis, you may be entitled to a higher LHA rate from 1 April. For more details of how this change might affect you, please contact the Benefits Section.

How will the changes affect me?

If you receive Housing Benefit paid under the Local Housing Allowance scheme, you will be affected by the changes. In most cases, your benefit entitlement is likely to go down.

However, most people will not notice a difference in their benefit entitlement straight away. In addition, the government have announced that most people will be entitled to up to nine months transitional protection.

When will the changes affect me?

• From 1 April 2011, if you are making a new claim (unless your claim is backdated prior to this date).
• If you are already in receipt of Local Housing Allowance, the changes will affect you straight away if ;
  • You change address; or
  • There is a change in your household (this only applies in certain circumstances)
• If you are already in receipt of Local Housing Allowance, but do not fall into the above categories, you may not be affected immediately. It will depend on when your Local Housing Allowance rate is due to be reviewed; e.g. If your Local Housing Allowance rate is due to be reviewed in June 2011, the changes will not affect you until March 2012.

However, If you currently receive the £15.00 weekly excess, you will not receive any transitional protection, and your Housing Benefit will reduce from the date your LHA rate is reviewed.

Further Information

You can get further information on Local Housing Allowance from:

Hart District Council

Benefits Section, Civic Offices, Harlington Way, Fleet, Hants GU51 4AE.

Tel: 01252 774444

Department of Work and Pensions

Housing Support Division, 5^th Floor, Adelphi, 1 – 11 John Adam Street, London WC2 6HT.

Website: www.dwp.gov.uk