Service FAQ questions |

main content Local Housing Allowance (LHA) -Landlord guide

What is the Local Housing Allowance?

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a new way of deciding rent payments for people receiving Housing Benefit. It uses a flat rate allowance based on the size of the tenant’s household and the area they live in.

The LHA replaces Rent Officer referrals for Housing Benefit customers living in the deregulated private sector, renting from private landlords.

The LHA will be introduced on the 7 April 2008

Who is excluded from the LHA?

Exempt from LHA are those who are:

• Council tenants 
• Housing Associations tenants 
• tenants living in Supported Housing 
• Crown tenants 
• private tenants whose tenancy began before 15 January 1989 
• tenants who live in caravans, houseboats or hostels 
• tenants who live in Board and Lodge accommodation
  

What about existing claimants?

The LHA will apply to new claims only made on or after 7 April 2008.

Existing claimants will continue to receive benefit under the current Rent Officer referral rules until a change occurs, either a move to a different address or a break in entitlement, benefit will then be transferred to the LHA.

How does the LHA work?

Different LHA rates will apply in different areas; these are known as the Broad Rent Market Areas (BRMAs).
London Borough of Bromley is covered by two BRMAs, the majority of the borough falls within the Outer South East London BRMA with only a small area in the north of the borough being in Inner South East London BRMA.

For each BRMA the Rent Service will set a range of rent levels which will be based on the claimant’s size criteria.

What is the size criteria?

The size criteria is based on the number of bedrooms that the household needs not the actual number of bedrooms the claimant’s household has.

The number of bedrooms the claimant is allowed is dependant on the size of the household which includes any non-dependants.

How many bedrooms will you allow?

We will allow:

• 1 bedroom for each adult couple
• 1 bedroom or any other adult aged 16 or over
• 1 bedroom for any two children under 16 of the same sex
• 1 bedroom for any two children under 10 irrespective of gender
• 1 bedroom for any other child

Each person is only counted once, in the first group they would come into.

We do not count everyone in the household when working out how many room are need. We count the tenant and his/her partner; as well as any children our young people they are responsible for. If there are any other adults, who are not boarders or lodgers, we count those. However, we do not count foster children or joint tenants.

Note: the number of living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms is ignored for the purposes of size criteria.

How can I find out what the LHA rates are?

The Local Housing Allowance rates are available here and will be updated monthly. You can also get the LHA rates by contacting us.

What if the rent is less than the LHA?

The claimant may keep any excess that they are paid upto a maximum of £15 per week. The LHA will be capped at £15 above the contractual rent.

The excess will not normally be taken into account when deciding other benefits.

What if the rent exceeds the LHA?

Housing Benefit is restricted to the level of the LHA. You can ask them to make any shortfall out of their other income. Alternatively, the claimant could choose to move to cheaper accommodation.

When are the LHA rates reviewed?

The Rent Service will review the LHA rates every month and the new rates will be published monthly, at the end of the month before they come into force.

More questions about Local Housing Allowance for landlords