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Latest News Are you single and aged under 35 on 1 January 2012? The Government announce changes to benefit system |
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a new scheme for people in privately rented accommodation who make a new claim for Housing Benefit on or after 7th April 2008. If you are already receiving Housing Benefit on this date these new rules will not apply to you. However, if you move address or stop claiming Housing Benefit for at least one week, we will work out your new claim under the LHA rules.
LHA replaces the old rent referral scheme with a system of Local Housing Allowances based on the area in which you live and the number of people in your household.
This new scheme will remove the need for the Rent Service to value each individual property and will mean that you can find out how much LHA you will be entitled to before you move into a property without the need to complete a Pre Tenancy Determination form.
Every property in the country will be included within a specific Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA). Stratford District has 7 BRMA:
Each area will have a separate set of LHA rates which the rent service will update each month. Once a rate is applied to your claim it is valid for 52 weeks unless you move address or there is a change in the size of your household which affects the bedroom rate you need.
To work out how much Local Housing Allowance you will be entitled to you will need to know which BRMA your property is in and how many bedrooms your household needs based on the list below.
One bedroom is allocated to every single adult or adult couple
An additional bedroom will be allocated for:
Each person should be allocated to the first category that applies to them and can only be counted once.
Single claimants under the age of 25 and tenants who share their facilities will be entitled to the 1 room with shared facilities LHA rate.
Shared accommodation is defined as exclusive use of one bedroom with shared living room, bathroom and kitchen facilities. For example someone who has a Joint Tenancy will received the shared accommodation rate because they share their living room, bathroom and kitchen facilities with the other tenant.
Five bedroom property LHA rate
From April 2011 this LHA rate will no longer be available; meaning the highest property rate under LHA rate will be four bedrooms. This does not mean that customers cannot rent a five bedroom (or larger) property, only that the eligible rent will be restricted to the four bedroom level.
How will this affect me?
It will only affect people receiving the five bedroom LHA rate, no one else.
Even though the law changes in April 2011, this will affect customers in the following ways:
Eligible rent above contractual rent
At the moment, if a customer can find a property where the contractual rent is less then their LHA rate, we can pay up to £15 per week more than their contractual rent, but never higher than their LHA rate.
From April 2011 this £15 per week excess is being removed so the eligible rent will always be the lower of the contractual rent or the LHA rate.
How will this affect me?
Even though the law changes in April 2011, this will affect customers in the following ways:
LHA Rates to be Capped
From April 2011 the LHA rates will be capped to the rates below:-
|
One bedroom |
£250.00 per week |
|
Two bedroom |
£290.00 per week |
|
Three bedroom |
£340.00 per week |
|
Four bedroom |
£400.00 per week |
How will this affect me?
We don't think it will, as our Local Housing Allowance rates have always been below the proposed caps, however if the Local Housing Allowance rates do rise above the cap levels then
Calculating the LHA rate
From April 2011 the LHA rates will be calculated in such a way as to produce lower amounts. The current calculation is based on the median of market rents, the new calculation will be based on the 30th percentile of market rents.
We do not know what the LHA rates will be in April 2011, so, at this time, we cannot provide an indication of how this will affect customers. However the Valuation Office (who calculates the LHA rates) has provided a table showing how the LHA rates would have changed if calculated using this new method of calculation. LHA Comparison.
The BRMA codes that fall within the district are:-
If you are unsure which BRMA you fall into please use the following link to the Valuation Office Agency website or contact the District Council on 01789 260991.
How will this affect me?
Even though the law changes in April 2011, this will affect customers in the following ways:
The level of non-dependant deductions applied to a benefit claim will be increasing with effect 1 April 2011.
| Non-Dependant's Income |
April 2010 £ per week |
April 2011 £ per week | |
| In receipt of Pension Credit, Income Support Jobseekers Allowance (income based) or ESA (income related). |
Nil | Nil | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income higher than £387 per week. | 6.95 | 8.60 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £310 per week to £386.99 per week. | 5.80 | 7.20 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £180 per week to £309.99 per week. | 4.60 | 5.70 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income less than £180 per week. | 2.30 | 2.85 | |
| Others aged 18+ | 2.30 | 2.85 |
| Non-Dependant's Income |
April 2010 £ per week |
April 2011 £ per week | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income higher than £387 per week. | 47.75 | 60.60 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £310 per week to £386.99 per week. | 43.50 | 55.20 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £234 per week to £309.99 per week. | 38.20 | 48.45 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £180 per week to £239.99 per week. | 23.35 | 29.60 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income between £122 per week to £179.99 per week. | 17.00 | 21.25 | |
| Aged 18+ working 16 hours+ with an income less than £122 per week. | 7.40 | 9.40 | |
| Others aged 18+ not in work or aged 25+ receiving Jobseekers Allowance (income based) | 7.40 | 9.40 | |
| In receipt of Pension Credit | Nil | Nil | |
| In receipt of main phase ESA (income related) | 7.40 | 9.40 | |
| Not in receipt of main phase ESA (income related) | Nil | Nil | |
| Others aged 18+ | 2.30 | 2.85 |
Usually you will have your Local Housing Allowance paid directly to you. It is then your responsibility to pay the rent to your landlord. If you don't pay your rent your landlord may take action against you.
If you do not already have one, you may want to set up a bank account. That way you can pay the rent to your landlord by setting up a standing order or direct debit. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) have provided an independent leaflet about the different types of basic bank accounts available. The Leaflet 'Just the facts about basic bank accounts' is available in any Council office or can be downloaded from the FSA website.
Stratford on Avon District Council is committed to the welfare of the more vulnerable residents of the District. If you think that you are in arrears or are unable to manage your affairs, a safeguard policy 'Local Housing Allowance Safeguard Policy for Tenants and Landlords' has been developed to guarantee that LHA payments will go directly to Landlords, in accordance with LHA rules, where it is considered that someone is vulnerable or unlikely to pay. These safeguards have been put in place to ensure that those who are vulnerable or who do not intend to pay their rent minimise the risk of falling into rent arrears, eviction and to reassure Landlords. A full copy of this policy is available from Council offices. An abridged version will be available on the website shortly.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) will continue to be available to claimants on both the Housing Benefit scheme and the LHA scheme. DHP is discretionary payment that the Council may award to claimants who are eligible for Housing Benefit to help 'top up' their Housing Benefit to the level of their rent. An application form and leaflet is available to download.
Downloads:
A guide to LHA - Landlord (286KB PDF)
|
A guide to LHA - Tenant (232KB PDF)
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Just the facts about basic bank accounts (944KB PDF)
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Discretionary Housing Payments - Application Form (65KB PDF)
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Discretionary Housing Payments - Leaflet (65KB PDF)
| Help with PDFs
External links:
FSA - Financial Services Authority
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LHA-Direct
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Table comparing LHA rates
See also:
Local Housing Allowance Rates
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Local Housing Allowance Changes
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