Changes to Housing Benefit for tenants of private landlords from April 2008

What is Local Housing Allowance?

The Government has changed the way the Council works out and pays Housing Benefit for some private tenants from April 2008. By ‘private tenant’ we mean somebody who rents their home from a private landlord.

Local Housing Allowance is help with the cost of rent and will take the place of Housing Benefit for some private tenants. It is a fixed rate based on the locality of your property and the number of bedrooms you need, not how much the rent is.

This is the maximum figure that can be used to calculate Local Housing Allowance. The amount of Local Housing Allowance you get will depend upon your income, capital and if you have other adults living with you.

The locality of your property is decided by the independent Valuation Office

The number of bedrooms you need depends on the number of people who live with you.

Who is Local Housing Allowance for?

Local Housing Allowance is for private tenants who:

  • Move on or after 7 April 2008
    or
  • Make a new claim for Housing Benefit on or after 7 April 2008

Who cannot get Local Housing Allowance?

You cannot get Local Housing Allowance if:

  • You are a private tenant who is already getting Housing Benefit (unless you move or have a break in your claim, on or after 7 April 2008) as you will continue to get your Housing Benefit
  • You are a council tenant
  • You are a tenant of a housing association
  • You are living in bed and breakfast accommodation
  • You live in a caravan, mobile home or house boat
  • Your tenancy started before 1989; or
  • You live somewhere where you are provided with care, support or supervision

Local Housing Allowance may not apply if your rent includes an amount for meals.  The Valuation Office will decide if this applies to your rent.

How much Local Housing Allowance will I get?

Your Local Housing Allowance will depend on:

  • The area you live in
  • Who lives with you
  • The number of bedrooms you and your family need; and
  • Any savings or money you may have coming in

The number of bedrooms you need

The rules say how many bedrooms you and your family need. You will need one bedroom for:

  • Every adult couple
  • Any other adult aged 16 or over
  • Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
  • Any two children regardless of their sex aged under 10; or
  • Any other child aged under 16

6 or more bedrooms

From 6 April 2009 Local Housing Allowance is paid for a maximum of 5 bedrooms for new claims.  People who make a new claim on or after 6 April 2009 will not be able to receive the LHA rate for more than 5 bedrooms.

We will review claims from people already receiving the LHA rate for 6 or more bedrooms on the 12 month anniversary of their claim. However there are protection arrangements where there is a death in the family.

Where someone who is receiving the LHA rate for 6 or more bedrooms moves, we will review their claim and reassess their benefit using the 5 bedroom rate from the date of the move

The area you live in

The independent Valuation Office will split the borough into different areas called Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs). Within your Broad Rental Market Area, the amount of Local Housing Allowance will be the same for each household that needs the same number of bedrooms.

Find out which broad rental market area your property is at the Valuation Office Agency Website.

The Valuaton Office will review the Local Housing Allowance rates and supply the authority with an updated list each month.  

The set rates of Local Housing Allowance will be published each month throughout the Council and on the Council’s website, so customers and landlords will always know what the current rates are.

Amount of Local Housing Allowance

If your rent is less than the Local Housing Allowance, you will be able to keep up to £15 of the extra money. But if your rent is more than the Local Housing Allowance, you will normally have to make up the difference yourself.

Local Housing Allowance is used as the rent figure for working out Housing Benefit. As Housing Benefit is based on your income and family circumstances your entitlement may be less than their Local Housing Allowance.

People under 25

If you are single and under the age of 25 and Local Housing Allowance applies to you, you will only qualify for the Local Housing Allowance rate for shared accommodation regardless of the size of accommodation that you live in.

The rate for shared accommodation is based on the tenant having sole use of a bedroom or bed-sit and shared use of some or all of the facilities for example, a kitchen, living room or bathroom and toilet.

However, this rule will not apply if:

  • You have a partner, or
  • A non-dependant adult lives with you, or
  • You are getting Child Benefit  for a child in your care, or
  • You qualify for certain disability benefits, or
  • You are aged under 22 and have been in care

Local Housing Allowance rates

The amounts of Local Housing Allowance are set by the Independent Valuation Office and are reviewed each month. The rates for July 2009 are:

LHA rates for Waltham Forest
Number of bedrooms Weekly LHA Outer North East London BRMA Weekly LHA Outer East London BRMA
Shared accommodation £76.38 £80
1 bedroom self contained £155.77 £161.54
2 bedrooms £196.15 £205
3 bedrooms £230.77 £253.85
4 bedrooms £323.08 £300.00
5 bedrooms £392.31 £369.23

From 6 April 2009 Local Housing Allowance is paid for a maximum of 5 bedrooms for new claims. People who make a new claim on or after 6 April 2009 will not be able to receive the LHA rate for more than 5 bedrooms.

How is Local Housing Allowance paid?

Local Housing Allowance is usually paid to you and not to your landlord.  You cannot choose to have it paid directly to your landlord.  However, in very special cases, we may pay it to your landlord, for example if you owe at least eight weeks rent.

Opening a bank or building society account

The easiest way is receive your Local Housing Allowance is to have it paid into a bank or building society account. If you have a bank or building society account, you can arrange for your bank or building society to pay your rent direct to your landlord.

If you don’t have an account you may want to open one.  The main types of bank account are:

  • A current account at any bank or building society; or
  • A basic bank account

To open a bank or building society account , get in touch with the bank or building society you have chosen. You can visit the branch in person or in some cases you can do it by phone. You will need to provide proof of who you are and where you live. The bank or building society will tell you which documents they accept. Typical things are:

  • A current passport
  • A full current driving licence
  • A recent council tax or utility bill
  • A letter from a government department or a local authority confirming a right to state benefits such as Pension Credit, Child Tax Credits, Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

Tell the bank you need an account that money can be paid into directly. If you want an account that you can access from your local Post Office, make this clear.

Tell the bank if you want a basic bank account and ask for it by name.  You do not have to pay a minimum amount into this type of account each month and they do not have overdraft facilities so there is no danger of running up debts or charges.

Who is Local Housing Allowance paid to?

Local Housing Allowance is usually paid to you and not to your landlord.

In some very special cases we may pay it to your landlord, for example, if:

  • We think you are likely to have difficulty managing your own affairs
  • We think you are unlikely to use your Local Housing Allowance to pay your rent
  • You have built up eight weeks or more rent arrears
  • You are having deductions made from your Income Support, Jobseekers’ Allowance, Employment and Support allowance or Guarantee Credit to pay off rent arrears
  • You qualify for backdated Local Housing Allowance or there has been a delay in processing your claim and a large amount of benefit is to be paid. In these cases we can decide to make the first payment of LHA by cheque payable to your landlord, although it would be sent to you

Rent arrears

If you have built up eight weeks or more rent arrears or you are having deductions for rent arrears taken from your Income Support, Jobseekers’ Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit we will normally pay your Housing Benefit to your landlord.

The landlord must provide evidence to show the rent that is due, any payments that have been made and the amount of rent outstanding.

Landlords are encouraged to contact the Benefits department when rent arrears are equal to five weeks’ rent. This allows the Local Authority time to gather information before the arrears reach the equivalent of eight weeks’ rent.

If you want to tell the Benefits Service that your tenant is in arrears with their rent, please download the Landlord Rent Arrears form (62KB Word file) and complete and return it to us with supporting evidence.  

“Safeguard”

“Safeguard” is used where direct payment of Housing Benefit to the landlord helps claimants who might not otherwise be able to pay their rent themselves. The direct payment is a safeguard to ensure rent is paid on time and the claimant and their family can continue to live in their home.

The Council can pay Housing Benefit to the landlord for up to eight weeks while it is gathering information to help it decide who to pay Benefit to.

Some of the groups included in the safeguard policy are

  • People with learning difficulties
  • People with medical conditions that seriously affect their ability to manage on a day to day basis
  • People who are unable to read, write or speak English where this affects their ability to manage their financial affairs
  • People with addictions to drugs, alcohol or gambling where this affects their ability to manage their financial affairs
  • People who have experienced recent changes and as a result need additional support in managing their affairs
  • People who are receiving help under the Supporting People scheme  
  • People with a history of homelessness and/or rough sleeping who are receiving help to sustain a tenancy in the private sector
  • People who are receiving help from a homeless charity
  • People with severe debt problems or recent County Court Judgements
  • People who are unable to obtain a bank account, including people who are physically unable to open an account
  • People who have deductions from their Pension Credit, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance for housing costs – housing costs include service charges and utility bills, which are part of the rent

This list is not exhaustive. Each case will be looked at on its own merits.

» More information about our safeguard policy (DOC)

How long will my Local Housing Allowance last for?

Once your Local Housing Allowance has been calculated, it applies from the start date of your claim and lasts for one year unless a review is triggered by one of the following:

  • A change in your circumstances which affects the category of the dwelling you are entitled to, for example, a child sharing a bedroom reaches 16, someone joins or leaves the household and this changes the number of bedrooms you need
  • A death in the household
  • A change of address

Providing there have been no changes in your circumstances, we will automatically recalculate your Local Housing Allowance claim after one year of payment.  The new benefit will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate in force at the time.

What do I need to do?

At the moment you do not need to do anything.

If you are already getting Housing Benefit this will not affect you unless you are a private tenant and on or after 7 April 2008, you:

  • Move
  • Have a break of at least a week, in your Housing Benefit
  • Make a new claim

What if I need more information?

If you are thinking of moving or making a new claim on or after 7 April 2008 and would like some advice on how this will affect your benefit, or you would like information about opening a bank account, please contact us:

  • By phone: call us on 020 8496 3000
  • In person: call in at one of our Waltham Forest Direct Shops, where you can get benefits advice or make a claim between 8.30am - 6pm from Monday-Friday.

    • Chingford
      265 Chingford Mount Road, Chingford, E4 8LP (Chingford WFD location)
      Wheelchair accessible
      Disabled toilet on site
      Hearing loop available
      The shop is 50 yards from the traffic lights at the junction with Hall Lane, next to the Coop chemist.
    • Leyton
      774-776 High Road, Leyton  E10 6AE (Leyton WFD location)
      Wheelchair accessible
      Disabled toilet on site
      Hearing loop available
      The shop is 200 yards from the Bakers Arms opposite the bus garage, on the corner of Leyton Green and High Road Leyton
    • Walthamstow
      137 Hoe Street, Walthamstow  E17 4RT (Walthamstow WFD location)
      Wheelchair accessible
      Disabled toilet on site
      Hearing loop available
      The shop is the old bank building opposite the top end of the High Street, on the corner of Church Hill and Hoe Street
    • Leytonstone
      819 High Road, Leytonstone  E11 1HQ (Leytonstone WFD location)
      Wheelchair accessible
      Disabled toilet on site
      Hearing loop available
      The shop is part of the library building by the traffic lights on the corner of Church Lane and the High Road Leytonstone

Local Housing Allowance has already been piloted by some local authorities. From 7 April 2008 it will be introduced nationally for all local authorities. The national Local Housing Allowance scheme is slightly different from the piloted scheme.