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Local housing allowance (LHA) is a benefit to help people pay their rent. This page explains more about what it is, what it covers and who can claim it.

What is local housing allowance?

Local housing allowance is the way that housing benefit is calculated and paid to tenants of private landlords.

You will not receive LHA if you are:

• a tenant of the council
• a tenant of a housing association
• a tenant who lives in a mobile home, caravan or houseboat
• a sharing owner. 

If you were already receiving housing benefit before 7 April 2008, you won't receive LHA until you move address or there is a break in your claim.

LHA cannot be used to pay a mortgage. If you have a mortgage you may be able to get help with paying the interest.

What does local housing allowance cover?

Local housing allowance covers:

• your rent
• some services charges, that are conditional on you living in the property.

It cannot cover charges for heating, hot water, lighting, laundry or cooking.

How is local housing allowance calculated?

Local housing allowance rates depend on how many bedrooms you need for your household and the area in which you live.

You'll be assessed as needing a bedroom for each of the following that you have in your household:

• adult couple
• other adult aged 16 or over
• any two children of the same sex up to the age of 16
• any two children regardless of sex under the age of 10
• any other child (foster children are not included)
• a carer if you or your partner are disabled and require overnight care.

Your local council should publish the LHA rates every month - usually on their website. You can also check the amount of LHA you are likely to receive on the LHA Direct website

If there are no changes in your circumstances your LHA will be reassessed every 12 months. This is called the anniversary of your claim. 

It's important that you tell your council about any changes that could affect your local housing allowance claim. For example, a rent rise or people moving in or out of your home. For more information see the page on changes in your circumstances.

What is the maximum number of bedrooms I can claim for?

From 1 April 2011 the maximum number of bedrooms that any household can claim for is four bedrooms. Before this the maximum was five bedrooms.

Households making a new local housing allowance claim after 1 April 2011 will be affected by this change immediately. Households who have been receiving the five bedroom rate since before 1 April 2011 will continue to get LHA at the same rate for nine months after the anniversary of their current claim.

You can still claim LHA for properties that have five or more bedrooms but you will only get the four bedroom rate. In this situation it's likely that your rent will be higher than your housing benefit.

If you think you might struggle to pay your rent because of this change you can apply for a discretionary housing payment from your local council.

Changes to the way that local housing allowance rates are set

Before 1 April 2011 around 5 in 10 properties in any area would have been affordable to people on LHA. This has been reduced to 3 in 10 properties. So for example, using the March 2011 LHA rates, the difference between the old and new rates is:

The amount your housing benefit will fall depends upon where you live. You may be able to pay the difference between your rent and your LHA from other income, or you may want to think about moving to a cheaper home.

If you're currently claiming LHA your benefit will not be reduced straight away. Your claim won't be looked at until the anniversary of your claim. After this you'll receive LHA at the same rate for nine months, unless your circumstances have changed. If your circumstances have changed you'll receive the new rate immediately.

It is important that you seek advice before the anniversary of your claim.

The freezing of local housing allowance rates

From April 2012 the LHA rates will be frozen for the following 12 months. This will mean that the April 2012 rates will be applied to all claims thought out the following 12 months. This includes new claims and when exsisting claims pass their anniversary date.

Caps on weekly local housing allowance rate

The maximum weekly local housing allowance rates changed on 1 April 2011. The maximum LHA you can claim is based on the number of bedrooms your household qualifies for.

The maximum rates are:

• £250 for a one bedroom property
• £290 for a two bedroom property
• £340 for a three bedroom property
• £400 for a four bedroom property

If you are renting privately and your weekly rent is above these rates then your housing benefit will be reduced nine months after the anniversary of your claim.

If your circumstances change, or you move before the anniversary of your claim, you'll receive the new LHA rate immediately. If your current rent is above these rates you should get advice about how to pay the difference between your rent and LHA immediately.

How much money will I get?

The amount of local housing allowance that you'll get is based on your income compared with what the government thinks you need to live on. This is called the applicable amount.

If your income is more than the applicable amount then there is a good chance that you will receive less LHA. For more information see the page on how housing benefit is calculated.

Removal of the weekly £15 excess payment

Before 1 April 2011 if your rent was lower than the maximum amount allowed under local housing allowance you would have been paid LHA of up to £15 a week more than your rent.

If you claimed LHA before 1 April 2011 and you're receiving this extra amount, you'll continue to get this until your claim is reviewed or your household circumstances change.

These extra payments stopped for all new claims made after 1 April 2011.

When should I claim?

If you think you might be entitled to local housing allowance, you should claim as soon as possible. It is best to do this by phone or in person. A claim form should be sent out to you for you to complete. This should be returned with all the required information within one month.

When will I get the money?

Your local housing allowance should be paid from the Monday after you handed in your claim form. Sometimes claims can take a while to process, if this happens your LHA should be backdated to the Monday after you claimed.

If have not received a payment within 14 days of handing in your form and you provided all the information required, you are entitled to a payment while you are waiting for your claim to be processed. This is called a payment on account or an interim payment.

You should get this payment automatically. However, this does not always happen, so you may have to ask your council to make a payment. You can download a sample letter asking for a payment on account. It's a good idea to do this as soon as possible after the 14 days, so you don't fall behind with your rent.

If your council does not make this payment you can make a complaint. Phone your local council or check their website, for information on how to complain. If you're not satisfied by the council's response, you can take your complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

The amount you're paid may be less than your rent. Once your LHA claim is assessed, any difference between your LHA and the payment on account will either be refunded or claimed back from you.

I am going to claim, can I stop paying rent?

Don't stop paying your rent unless you are confident that you will receive the full amount of local housing allowance. You may not be entitled to LHA or you might only get help with part of the rent, leaving you to make up the rest. Claims can take a long time to process and you could be left with huge rent arrears. If possible, try to find out roughly how much you'll get when you hand in your form.

If you're having difficulty paying your rent and you're unsure if you'll be entitled to the full amount of LHA, try to keep making payments at a level you can afford. You should also tell your landlord that you've claimed LHA.

What if I am a joint tenant?

If you're a joint tenant then the amount of local housing allowance you receive will depend on whether:

• you have a non-dependant living with you
• you are over the age of 35, and in addition to your bedroom, you have exclusive use of a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.

If you answer yes to one or more of the above then you should get the two-room rate, if the answer is no then you will get the shared room rate.

Who gets paid the local housing allowance?

Normally local housing allowance is paid directly to you.

However, it can be paid straight to your landlord where:

• you have rent arrears of eight weeks or more
• you are already getting deductions from your income support, employment and support allowance or jobseeker's allowance to pay for rent arrears
• your council helped you get your private rented accommodation. 

The council can also pay your LHA straight to your landlord if it believes you are:

• likely to have problems managing your financial affairs because you having a learning disability or have a drug or alcohol problem
• unlikely to pay your rent and are aware that you have consistently failed to pay rent in the past, without good reason.

To come to a decision the council can consider information from various sources such as:

• yourself
• your family
• your landlord
• your doctor
• your probation officer
• community mental health teams
• social services departments
• welfare officers.

If your landlord is willing to reduce your rent to a more affordable level (normally to the LHA rate for the property) then they may be able to get LHA directly to them.

If the council does decide to pay LHA straight to your landlord this decision will be reviewed after 12 months. 

If you need help you should contact a Shelter Scotland adviser or Citizens Advice, your local council or other local advice centre. Use the Advice Services Directory to find agencies in your area.