Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

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 in which the property is rented to decide the amount of benefit they will receive. This amount is not dependant on the rent that is charged. The benefit that tenants receive may be higher or lower than the actual rent. The rate of LHA that tenants receive will be looked at each year.

Other circumstances, such as the money that the tenant has coming in or other people living in the household, will still affect the amount of benefit paid, so the tenant may not always receive the full rate of LHA.

When are the changes being introduced?

We will introduce LHA from 7 April 2008.

What does the LHA scheme cover?

The new scheme will apply to Housing Benefit claimants in the deregulated private sector.

• Landlords providing accommodation in one of the following types of tenancy, will be exempt from receiving LHA:
• Registered social landlord tenancies;
• Protected cases, such as supported housing provided by certain local authorities, social landlords, charities and voluntary organisations;
• Tenancies which are excluded from current rent restrictions (such as pre-15 January 1989 tenancies);
• Exceptional cases such as caravans, houseboats and hostels; and
• Cases where the rent officer judges that a substantial part of the rent is due to board and attendance (such as hotel accommodation).