How to work out what you may get

How much Local Housing Allowance (LHA) you get will depend on:

  • who lives with you
  • which area you want to live in
  • how much money you have coming in
  • what savings you have

Working out how much you may get:

1.    Work out the number of rooms you are allowed (see below).

2.    Check the LHA rate for the area you want to live in - the monthly and weekly LHA rates will be produced by the Rent Service before the start of each month. The rates will be on display at the Council Offices in Sidmouth, at Exmouth Town Hall, at the benefit surgeries and on our website.

3.    Find out  if you can get the full rate of LHA. Any money you have coming in or savings you have may affect this.

Your Housing Benefit will be based on the LHA rate that applies to you. If your rent is higher than the Local Housing Allowance rate you will need to pay the difference yourself or look for alternative accommodation.

If you are an existing Housing Benefits customer and you see a reduction in your LHA rate under the new rules which came into effect on 1 April 2011, you will not normally be affected until nine months after your anniversay date (the date when we review you claim). This is because you will be entitled to transitional protection. Transitional protection will end sooner than nine months if you:

  • change address
  • become entitled to a larger category of dwelling and the maximum rent (LHA) is equal to or higher than the transitionally protected rent
  • become entitled to a smaller category of dwelling
  • are entitled to bereavement protection (up to 12 months) following the death of someone in the household.

How to work out how many rooms you are allowed
The number of people who live with you will be used to work out how many bedrooms you are allowed. We do not count other rooms such as a living room, kitchen or bathroom. You can use the following information as a guide.

Bedrooms
You are allowed one bedroom for:

  • every adult couple (by this we mean married or civil partners or living together as if married or civil partners)
  • any other adult aged 16 or over
  • any two children of the same sex aged under 16
  • any two children under age 10
  • any other child

However, from April 2011, the maximum LHA rate payable for new claims is for the four bedroom rate only.

Shared facilities
If you share some or all of the facilities in a property, you may not get the standard rate of LHA. Shared facilities could be a living room, kitchen or bathroom. In this case, you may get the shared LHA rate. This is for tenants who have a bedroom of their own but share all or some of the facilities.

Couples with no dependent children
If you are part of ‘a couple’ who have no dependent children living with you, you can get the rate for a one-bedroomed property if you rent a ‘self-contained’ property.

•    By ‘a couple’, we mean a man and woman who are married or are living together as if they are married or a same sex couple who are civil partners or living together as if they are civil partners.

•    By ‘self-contained’, we mean a property where you have at least one room nobody else uses and a bathroom, toilet and cooking facilities that nobody else uses. For example, this could be a one-bedroom flat.

People living alone
From January 2012, anyone PDF file under 35 years of age (198KB - 04 October 2011 - PDF Help) and living on their own in the private rented sector will only be able to get LHA at the shared room rate.

Dependants and non-dependants
If you claim LHA you can only get it for yourself and your dependants. If you share a property we will make a deduction for facilities you share with any non-dependants. The rules for this are the same as the rules for Housing Benefit.

Joint tenants
If you claim LHA you can only get it for yourself and your dependants. If you are a joint tenant we will make a deduction for any non-dependants and sub-tenants. By joint tenant we mean someone who has an agreement with the landlord to share the rent with other tenants. The rules for this are the same as the rules for Housing Benefit.

If you want more information, please call us on 01395 517446.

Page last updated on 6 January 2012