Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

On 7 April 2008, big changes were introduced in the way we calculate your housing benefit.  The new scheme is called Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

It affects you if you live in private rented accommodation and you:

  • make a new claim for housing benefit which starts after 7 April 2008, or
  • currently get housing benefit and move to private rented accommodation after 7 April 2008, or
  • live in private rented accommodation, get housing benefit but then have a break in your claim of more than one week.

You won't be affected if you:

  • currently get housing benefit
  • make a claim for benefit for a Housing Association property that you rent
  • make a claim for benefit for private rented accommodation which has a start date before 7 April 2008
  • live in a caravan, houseboat or tent
  • live in a house provided by East Devon District Council.

We will continue to calculate your benefit in the same way.

What's the difference between the existing Housing Benefit scheme and Local Housing Allowance?

Both schemes help tenants meet their housing costs. Under the old scheme, we calculated benefit based on the rent that you actually pay or the rent that the Rent Officer decided was a 'fair rent'.

Under the new scheme, the Rent Officer decides appropriate rent levels based on the number of bedrooms in a property, and applies them across the whole area. This is called the Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA). East Devon has PDF file 3 BRMAs (229KB - PDF Help). We publish the Local Housing Allowance Rates each month so that you and your landlord can be clear about the amount of rent that LHA will cover. You can also go directly to the LHA website  which provides a search facility for LHA rates by local authority, BRMA and postcode.

The Government thinks that the new scheme offers a better deal for tenants in private rented accommodation. Their fundamental aims are to promote:

  • Fairness
  • Choice
  • Transparency
  • Personal responsibility
  • Financial inclusion
  • Improved administration and reduced barriers to work

You can find out what this will mean in practice, and more, by checking out the headings listed on the right. You can also have a look at our range of Local Housing Allowance leaflets.