Housing Benefit Information for Tenants

Housing Benefit Information

From 7 April 2008 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the new way of calculating Housing Benefits. It is allocated to private tenants only and not those of Council accommodation or other social housing. All councils calculate this by allocation of bedrooms and which LHA rate applies. Tenants who have had Housing Benefit claims before 7 April 2008 will still have a varied Housing Benefit allowance as their claim was calculated on their personal situation.

The factors which determine how much each tenant is entitled to are as follows;

• Every Adult couple (married or sum married)
• Any other adult ages 16 or over
• Any two children of the same sex under 16
• Any two children ages under 10
• Any other child

Examples of room allocation;

• A Married/unmarried couple are only entitled to 1 bedroom.
• A couple with a child will be entitled to 2 bedrooms.
• A couple with 2 children under the age of 10 will be entitled to 2 bedrooms.
• A couple with 2 children of the same sex and both under the age of 16 will be entitled to 2 bedrooms.
• A couple with 2 children over the age of 10 and different sexes will be entitled to 3 bedrooms.
• A couple with 2 children over the age of 16 and another child will be entitled to 4 bedrooms.
• A couple with 2 children over the age of 16 and another 2 children of different sexes and over the age of 10 will be entitled to 5 bedrooms

The table below summarises LHA rates as of February 2012. These are updated monthly and more information can be found on the relevant council website.

If you are unsure of how much you will receive there is a 'LHA Calculator' which may be able to help you/ the tenant. By answering a few simple questions the calculator will predict how much you, the tenant, is entitled to. Calculators for each councils can be found by through the following links South Tyneside Council, Gateshead City Council, Sunderland City Council and Newcastle City Council.

Who Receives the Local Housing Allowance

The LHA in most circumstances gets paid directly to the tenant. However under certain circumstances, such as the tenant is in 8 weeks of rent arrears, the LHA can get paid directly to the landlord.

Disclaimer

Please note that the information on this page will be updated on the first of every month.

THESE ARE GUIDANCE NOTES ONLY AND WE RECOMMEND YOU CONTACT YOUR LOCAL HOUSING BENEFIT OFFICE IF YOU WISH TO DISCUSS ANY MATTERS THEN PLEASE USE THE CONTACT US OR CALL 0845 508 0932