Local housing allowance

This content applies to Scotland only.

Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. This page applies to Scotland only. Get advice relating to England

Local housing allowance 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 not a new benefit, however, it is the new way that housing benefit is calculated and is paid to tenants of a private landlord.

You will not receive local housing allowance 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. 

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

How is local housing allowance calculated?

The local housing allowance that you will receive will depend on the how many bedrooms you will need due the how many people are in your household and the area in which you live

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

• adult couple
• other adult aged over 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.

Your council should publish the room rates every month. You can also check the amount of LHA your are likely to receive here.

What does local housing allowance cover?

Local housing allowance payments can cover:

• 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 much money will I get?

The amount of local housing allowance that you will actually get is based on your income compared with what the government thinks that 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 local housing allowance. For more information on this, go to the page on how housing benefit is calculated.

Who can claim?

You may be able to claim local housing allowance if you:

• have a low income, or
• are receiving welfare benefits.
  

If you think that you might be entitled to local housing allowance you should submit a claim form.

When should I claim?

If you think you might be entitled to local housing allowance, you should claim as soon as possible. It would be best to do this by phone or in person, as a letter could get lost in the post. A claim form should be sent out to you for you to complete and return with all the necessary information to support your claim within one calendar month.

When will I get the money?

Your local housing allowance should be paid from the Monday after you handed in your claim form. Bear in mind, however, that claims can take a while to process and should be backdated to the Monday after you claimed.

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

Don't stop paying your rent unless you are confident that you will receive full amount of local housing allowance. You may not be entitled to local housing allowance 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 approximately how much help you might be entitled to when you hand in your form. You could contact a housing aid centre or Citizens Advice Bureau, your local council or other local advice centre. Use the Advice Services Directory to find agencies in your area.

If you are having difficulty paying your rent and you are not sure if you will be entitled to the full amount of local housing allowance, try to keep making payments at a level you can afford, but be sure and tell your landlord that you have claimed local housing allowance.

I'm a joint tenant

If you are 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 25, 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.

I already get housing benefit, will anything change?

If you are already in receipt of housing benefit nothing will change until you move address or have a break in your claim.

Who gets the local housing allowance?

In normal circumstances the local housing allowance is paid directly to yourself.

However, in certain circumstances the council can make the payments direct to your landlord if:

• 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.

The council also has the discretion to pay your local housing allowance direct to your landlord if it believes you are:

• likely to have problems managing your financial affairs because you having a learning disorder or having a drug and 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
• social services departments
• welfare officers.

Of course the above list is not a full list of people who the council can take evidence from. If you need help you should contact a housing aid centre or Citizens Advice Bureau, your local council or other local advice centre. Use the Advice Services Directory to find agencies in your area.