Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

When renting a property or room from a private landlord, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is used to work out how much housing benefit is received.

If you have been receiving housing benefit since before April 7 2008, the LHA will only apply to you if you:

• change address
• have a break in your claim

All new Housing Benefit customers from 7th April 2008, and those detailed above, that are living in a private rented property, will have their Housing Benefit calculated using the LHA scheme.

With the LHA, housing benefit is worked out according to where the property is and how many people live in that property.

Local Housing Allowance rates are set for different types of accommodation in each area. The rates range from a single room in a shared house up to properties with four bedrooms.

Read about the several changes that have been made to the LHA Scheme.