What is LHA? In brief, LHA will be introduced across the country on Monday 7th April 2008 and will operate alongside the current Housing Benefit Scheme. LHA will be phased in and will only affect tenants in the mainstream privately rented sector who:
If an existing tenant remains in a property and continues to claim Housing Benefit continuously, he/she will continue to be treated under the existing rules.
LHA will mean that most tenants will be paid their Housing Benefit directly and will not have the option to elect for benefit to be paid to their landlords. It will be the tenant's responsibility to pay the rent to his/her landlord. There are, however, safeguards in place, as explained in more detail below.
Tenants, renting accommodation from a private landlord, can calculate the possible amount of Housing Benefit available to them by visiting the LHA-Direct** website at lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk/**. (external website**)
As it has been recognised that some tenants may struggle with the responsibility of paying their rent, safeguards will be put in place. Local Authorities will be able to exercise a certain amount of discretion as to who should receive direct payments.
For example, if a tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their affairs, he/she could be deemed as vulnerable. Similarly, if there is a reason, supported by evidence, to believe that a tenant is unlikely to pay, a landlord can request to be paid the LHA directly. Again, this will be at the discretion of the Local Authority.
In cases where tenants have accrued at least eight weeks' arrears, landlords can ask the council to pay Housing Benefit to them directly and not their tenant. The authority may then decide to make payments to the landlord until the arrears have been cleared.
The amount of Housing Benefit will depend on the income and capital of the claimant and his/her household, but the LHA figures will determine the rent that the benefit calculation is based upon, and represents the maximum amount that they could receive (subject to a maximum of £15 per week above their actual rent liability). The amount of LHA a tenant could get will no longer be dependant on the property, which they are renting, but it will be determined by the amount of bedrooms that the tenant requires for the number of people that occupy the property.
The LHA figures are determined by the Rent Service, which is an agency of the Inland Revenue and completely independent of the Council. The Rent Service gathers data of tenancies offered for letting, in an area known as a Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA). The BRMAs are not restricted to arbitrary or administrative boundaries, but are determined by common factors in the rental market.
Check here each month for the current rates.
Click here for previous months' BRMA rates
One of the fundamental aims of the Government’s welfare reforms is for individuals to take responsibility for their finances and housing costs. As customers start to receive their Housing Benefit directly, from 7 April 2008, they will need to have arrangements in place for paying rent to their landlord.
Many banks offer basic bank accounts, which may be suitable for tenants who just want to be able to receive their Housing Benefit and set up standing orders, so they can arrange regular payments to their landlord.
We will be contacting existing customers to encourage and advise then on the options available to them and how to go about opening an account.
Click here for the information leaflet for tenants (161KB) .
Working out the Local Housing Allowance for:
**Please note: High Peak Borough Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.