Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is for tenants in Leeds who rent from a private landlord. If you rent from us or a housing association please follow the housing benefit link to find out about your housing benefits.
If you are a landlord, there is more information for you on the Landlords and Local Housing Allowance page.
The information below explains how Local Housing Allowance is currently worked out and how much you may get if you make a claim now.
Who can get LHA?
If you live in the Leeds area, have a low income and pay rent for your property to a private landlord you may be able to claim LHA. You can’t claim if you have savings over £16000, unless you are aged 60 or over and receive the guarantee credit of pension credit. There are special rules if you are a full-time student or live abroad.
How much LHA will I get?
The LHA is based on the number of bedrooms your household needs not the number of rooms in the property you rent, or the rent that you are charged. If the LHA is more than the rent, then you can keep some of the extra benefit, if the LHA is less than the rent then the you must make up the shortfall. The LHA amount is set when you make a claim and lasts for one year unless your household circumstances change. After one year it is updated.
How many bedrooms am I allowed?
You are allowed one bedroom for
- each adult couple
- any other adult (aged 16 or over)
- any two children under 10
- any two children of the same sex under 16
- or for any other child.
Example
|
Household
|
Bedrooms
|
|
Family A – Couple with one child
|
2
|
|
Family B – Single parent with a girl aged 6 and a boy aged 8
|
2
|
|
Family C - Couple with a girl aged 6 and a boy aged 12
|
3
|
|
Family D – Single parent with a boy age 17 and boy age 12
|
3
|
|
Family E – Couple with girls age 17 and 14 and boy age 9
|
4
|
Family B for example are entitled to two bedrooms. If they rent a property with three bedrooms, their benefit will still be worked out using the two bedroom LHA.
Single people under 35:
If you are single and under 35 you get the shared accommodation LHA no matter what size of property you rent.
Single people leaving care and those who are severely disabled:
If you are a single care leaver under 22 or are severely disabled you will get the one bedroom self-contained rate, regardless of the type of accommodation that you occupy.
Formerly homeless
If you are between 25 and 34 and have been homeless at any time for more than 3 months, and you live in self contained accommodation you may be able to get the 1 bedroom rate – contact us if you think that this applies to you.
Joint tenants
Joint tenants are people who are not a couple but share a property and are named on the tenancy agreement. Joint tenants will get the LHA for their own household not including the family of the other joint tenants.
Overnight Carers
If someone who does not normally live with you, regularly stays overnight to provide care for you because you could not continue to live independently without the care they provide, you may be able to get extra help. If you think that this applies to you, please contact us and we will look into this with further with you.
Current local housing allowance rates
The LHA is set each month by the rent service who provide the “maximum allowances” for households who need up to 4 bedrooms.
Leeds has two sets of LHA rates Leeds and Tyersal.
The Leeds rates apply to all properties within our boundary except those in the Tyersal area.
The new maximum weekly Local Housing Allowance rates for Leeds from 1st April 2012 are
- Shared accommodation £61.50
- one Bedroom accommodation £99.00
- two Bedroom accommodation £122.75
- three Bedroom accommodation £150.00
- four Bedroom accommodation £196.15
The new maximum weekly local housing allowance rates for Tyersal from 1st April 2012 are
- Shared accommodation £57.73
- one Bedroom accommodation £80.77
- two Bedroom accommodation £98.08
- three Bedroom accommodation £109.62
- four Bedroom accommodation £126.92
The rates are provided annually by the rent service. These rates are valid until 31st March 2013. The maximum rate is for 4 bedrooms.
The LHA rate is the maximum you can get. If your rent is less than your LHA, the maximum LHA you can get will be your rent.
For example, if your LHA was £121.15 and your rent was £100.00 the most you will be able to get is £100.00, but if your LHA was £121.15 and your rent was £120.00 the most you will be able to get is £121.15.
Local Housing Allowance rates are set each month by the Rent Service which is part of Her Majesty's Revenues and Customs Valuation Office. The rates are set on a monthly basis and can change each month.
If you would like to see a summary of the rates that have been set in previous months, please click on the link at the right of this page.
Payments of Local Housing Allowance
The first payment of LHA on a new claim is normally made in the form of a cheque made payable to the landlord and sent to your address. The first payment is usually made this way because it can be for a higher amount than the usual four weekly payment so it makes sure you do not fall into arrears.
If you are already getting LHA and change address, and the first payment covers only the usual four weekly payment then it will usually be sent you. However if the payment is for an amount greater than four weeks we may pay the first payment to the landlord.
After the first payment, payments will normally be made direct to you every four weeks in arrears. However, if it is more convenient for you, you can ask to be paid fortnightly in arrears.
You must make arrangements with your landlord how to pay the rent. Most people find that the best way is for us to pay the local housing allowance directly into their bank or building society account. They can then set up a standing order or direct debit to pay their landlord every four weeks. We can also make payments fortnightly in arrears.
Bank accounts
You should be able to open an account either at a bank, building society or at the Leeds City Credit Union to get your local housing allowance. If you are having difficulty opening an account, please let us know as we may be able to help.
Safeguards
Some people may have difficulty getting the local housing allowance and paying their rent. Payments of local housing allowance can be made direct to a landlord if
- You are unlikely to pay your rent we could pay directly to a landlord
- you cannot handle your financial affairs, we could pay directly to your landlord
- we can also make payment directly to landlords if you are more than eight weeks in arrears with your rent
Additionally, if your landlord has reduced the rent they would normally charge in exchange for direct payment of your Local Housing Allowance to your landlord, we can pay your benefit direct to your landlord if you agree to this and the new lower rent is affordable for you.
Payments to landlords can only be made four weekly in arrears, we are not able to pay landlords fortnightly.
If someone else looks after your money for you or there is a power of attorney, payment can be made to the person who looks after your money or the person with the power of attorney
If you want your Local Housing Allowance to be paid directly to your landlord or someone else who helps you with your finances, you should write to us stating why you feel you cannot pay your rent yourself.
If you have any queries about local housing allowance telephone 0113 222 4404 or use the email link on this page to benefit enquiries.
Tenancy deposit scheme
From 6 April 2007, all deposits taken by landlords and letting agents must be protected by a government-authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme.