Local Housing Allowance

What is Local Housing Allowance?

For most tenants in private rented accommodation, the maximum Housing Benefit that can be paid is determined by the Local Housing Allowance.

Please note if you are of working age and do not currently receive Housing Benefit, you must apply for Universal Credit. The Local Housing Allowances rules may be slightly different.

The amount of the Local Housing Allowance depends on where you live, and the number of bedrooms you require.

In most cases, the Local Housing Allowance will be less than the rent you are charged.

Who is not affected by LHA?
Local Housing Allowance does not affect all tenancies.
You will not be affected by the changes if:

  • The accommodation is rented from a housing association
  • You were in receipt of Housing Benefit prior to 6th April 2008 and have not moved property or had any breaks in your claim.
  • The tenancy includes the provision of care, support or supervision and is provided by local authorities, social landlords, charities or voluntary organisations
  • The tenancy includes substantial board and attendance, such as hotel accommodation
  • The accommodation is a caravan, mobile home or houseboat or ground rent

Working Out Your Local Housing Allowance
The LHA is a flat rate maximum entitlement to housing benefit. The amount depends on the number of people living in the tenant’s household and the number of bedrooms they need, referred to as the size criteria.

The size criteria
One bedroom for:

  • Every adult couple
  • Any other adult aged 16 or over
  • Any two children regardless of gender aged under 10
  • Any two children of the same gender aged up to 16
  • Any other child

For single tenants under 35 years old there will be a "shared" rate of LHA that replaces the single room rent. This rate will also apply to single people over 35 and couples with no other occupiers who chose to live in shared accommodation.

To work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to and which Local Housing Allowance rate would apply to you, you can use the LHA Direct website

Additional bedrooms may be awarded if you, or someone in your household, has a disability which means they cannot share a bedroom, or a bedroom is required for a non-resident overnight carer. If you think you may qualify for an additional bedroom, please contact us directly.

How much rent will be taken into account?

To view the rate for a particular property, provided you know the postcode, you can visit the LHA Direct website 

Local Housing Allowance Rates are set by the Department for Work and Pensions each year. They do not necessarily increase in year and do not usually cover your full rent.

Once you know what your LHA rate will be you can then use the on line benefits calculator and use the LHA rate and details of your income and household to get an estimate of your entitlement.