Current LHA Rates - To
include September 2010 rates
View the latest Local Housing Allowance rates here (link will
open a pdf document)
Local Housing Allowance
LHA is a new way of calculating Rent Allowance
for certain Claimants which came into effect on 7 April 2008. The
reason for the change is that Housing Benefit has become a
complex benefit that does little to promote
personal responsibility and can act as a barrier to work - LHA pays
a flat rate depending on the number of bedrooms required by each
Claimant. The payments will, wherever possible, be made to the
Claimant rather than the Landlord. This will result in a simpler,
fairer system that allows the Claimant more responsibility and
choice.
You can download a pdf version of the
full
Direct LHA Payment Policy here. It is summarised on this
page.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have
said "Housing Benefit has long been criticised as an extremely
complex benefit that does little to promote personal responsibility
and can act as a barrier to work". The objectives of LHA are to
promote:
Fairness: LHA has been
designed to pay the same amount to tenants with similar
circumstances living in the same area. This differs from the
original Housing Benefit scheme which ties the level of benefit to
the rent actually charged for a property.
Choice: Tenants are able to
take greater responsibility and choose how to spend their income in
a similar way to tenants who are not in receipt of benefits.
Tenants can choose whether to rent a larger property or spend less
on rent and increase their income.
Transparency: The current
link between Housing Benefit and individual rents is complex and
does not set out clearly what level of support is available for
people on low incomes. With LHA, tenants (and landlords) can find
out in advance exactly how much benefit can be paid towards housing
costs in different areas and for different size
properties.
Personal responsibility:
Empowering people to budget and pay their rent themselves,
rather than having it paid for them, helps develop the skills that
unemployed tenants will need as they move back into
work.
Financial inclusion: Ideally,
tenants will set up a bank account and have their benefit paid into
this account via BACS. They can then set up a standing order to pay
the rent to their landlord/agent directly. This has the advantage
of being a safe and secure method of payment and provides certainty
that rent will be paid.
Reduced barriers to work:
Greater certainty about what in-work benefits tenants could
receive is expected to encourage customers to take the step from
welfare into work.
Improved administration:
There will no longer be a need for the complex rent
restrictions and individual referral of rents to rent officers that
currently contribute to the delay in processing claims by private
tenants. The LHA scheme is simpler for local authorities to operate
and for tenants to understand.
LHA applies to:
- Claimants who claimed for the first time after
7 April 2008.
- Claimants who changed
address after 7 April 2008 (this includes changing rooms within the
same property).
- Claimants who are reclaiming after
a gap in their claim of at least a week.
LHA does not apply to:
- Existing Housing Benefit tenants
who do not change address unless they have a gap in their
claim.
- Tenants of Housing
Associations and other Social / Charitable Landlords.
- Tenants who live in Hostels
(NACRO) / Houseboats / Mobile Homes or Caravans.
- Tenants whose tenancy began
before 1989.
- Tenants whose rent includes a
substantial element of Board / Lodging.
These tenants will continue to come under the
Housing Benefit scheme.
The LHA rates payable are decided by the Rent
Officer. They look at the rates each month; though they do not
necessarily change them every time. The figures are then passed to
us to use in our calculations.
The amount of LHA that a Claimant receives
depends on:
- The area they live in, known as
the Broad Rental Market Area; and
- Who lives with them, known as the
Size Criteria
The Rent Service no longer value individual
properties. Instead they set monthly LHA rates for different size
properties within different areas based on the average (median)
rent charged by private landlords. These areas are called Broad
Rental Market Areas.
Tendring has just one Broad Market Rental
Area.
Please see the table at the top of this page for the
current LHA rates.
No, there is only one set of LHA rates for the
whole of the district.
The LHA rates will normally be reviewed after a
year, on the anniversary of the LHA start date. At this time it
will be amended to use the current rate. However, if a Claimant has
a change of circumstances that requires the LHA to be amended
before that date, then the new review date will be a year from the
date the LHA was changed.
Any change that means a Claimant is entitled to
more or less bedrooms. This could include:-
- A single Claimant turning
25.
- A Partner joining or leaving the
household (if the Claimant is under 25).
- The birth of a new
baby.
- A Child or Non Dependant Adult
joining or leaving the household.
- Children turning 10
or 16.
If the Claimant is over 25, a Partner
moving in or out will not affect the LHA rates payable as one
bedroom is allowed for both a single Claimant and a couple.
If the LHA rate is reviewed then the next annual
review will be due 1 year after the date the LHA was
changed.
LHA does not take into account the actual rent
paid so a rent increase will not lead to a review of the LHA rate
used.
From late March 2008 onwards the LHA rates for
the current month are publicised in Council receptions / cash
offices and here on our
website.
The Rent Officer will provide rates for larger
properties on request.
LHA is based on bedrooms only. A Claimant is
entitled to 1 bedroom each for:-
- The Claimant (and Partner if
applicable),
- Any other
adult aged 16 or over,
- Any two Children under
16 of the same sex,
- Any two Children
regardless of sex under age 10,
-
Any other Child.
Single Claimants under 25 can only be paid the
lowest LHA rate, the 'Shared Accommodation' rate, regardless of the
type of accommodation they actually live in.
Single Claimants over 25 and couples with no
children can also be paid the lowest 'Shared Accommodation' rate,
but only if they actually live in shared accommodation.
'Shared Accommodation' is when a Claimant
has the exclusive use of only one bedroom, and
shares the use of one or more of a: kitchen; bathroom;
toilet.
If the LHA rate is higher than the rent a
Claimant is paying, then they can keep the difference up to a
maximum of £15.00 a week. This 'excess' is the Claimant's money to
spend as they choose, and will not be taken into account when
assessing any means-tested benefits.
Even if the payments go to the Landlord or Agent,
any excess the Claimant is entitled to will still be paid to the
Claimant.
LHA takes no account of any services or charges
included in the rent. No deductions are made from the LHA for
these.
LHA will, wherever possible, be paid to the
Claimant.
No, the Claimant will need to have a Bank or
Building Society Current Account.
They will need to open one. If they are unable to
open a Current Account then they may still be able to get a Basic
Bank Account. Further details on what accounts are available, and
money advice, can be found at the
Money Made Clear website. The Financial
Services Authority have produced a leaflet about
Basic Bank Accounts. General financial advice
is also available from the Citizen's
Advice Bureau.
Yes, but only in exceptional circumstances. The
reasons why LHA can be paid to the Landlord / Agent are:
- The Claimant is considered
unable to deal with their financial affairs, due to medical /
dependency reasons etc.
- The Claimant is considered
unlikely to pay their rent based on past problems with arrears
etc.
These reasons are discretionary, and proof will
be needed in most cases. Requests for Landlord / Agent payments
under these criteria can be made by the Claimant, Landlord / Agent,
or a third party such as a relative, carer, support worker, or
welfare organisation. Each case will be decided on its own merits
and reviewed regularly - how often will depend on the reasons
given.
- The Claimant is in arrears
of 8 weeks rent or more.
This reason is not discretionary, it is part of
the regulations just as it is for Housing Benefit. The Landlord or
Agent would request this change in payments. Usually proof of the
arrears would be required and payments would revert back to the
Claimant once the arrears were cleared.
Even if the payments go to the Landlord / Agent,
any excess the Claimant is entitled to will still be paid to the
Claimant.
Please click here for our Direct Payments Policy.
Click here to download a Landlord Payments form for completion by
Landlords
Click here to download a Landlord Payments form for completion by
Tenants
What happens if the Claimant receives an
excess?
If the LHA rate is higher than the rent a
Claimant is paying, then they can keep the excess up to a maximum
if £15.00 a week. This is the Claimant's money to spend as they
choose, and will not be taken into account when assessing any
means-tested benefits.
Even if the payments go to the Landlord or Agent,
any excess the Claimant is entitled to would still be paid to the
Claimant.
What happens if the size of a household
changes?
If the change means that a claimant is entitled
to more or less bedrooms, then the LHA rate will be amended to the
correct rate for the number of rooms now required. The next annual
review will then be due 1 year after the date the LHA was
changed.
The LHA rate relevant to the start date of the
claim will be used. If the backdate means the start of the claim
will be before 7 April 2008 then the claim will then come under the
Housing Benefit Scheme and LHA will not apply.
It is not possible to appeal against the LHA rate
itself as this flat rate is used for all similar sized properties
in an area.
However, both the Claimant and Landlord / Agent
can appeal if they think that we have used the wrong level of LHA
rate on a specific claim i.e. they believe the Claimant is entitled
to more bedrooms than we have allowed.
Both the Claimant and Landlord / Agent can appeal
against a decision that the LHA should or should not be paid to the
Landlord / Agent.
For more information you can visit one of the
following websites:
Department for Work and Pensions
The Rent
Service
Or if you have any questions for us you can
contact us at benefitsmail@tendringdc.gov.uk
To download any of the pdf documents on this page
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