lower rate LHA

daisy_doughnut_2

hi
its a question for a friend
she started rentin 2 yrs ago and applied for lha she was awarded 96 pounds a week as she needs 2 rooms
in april it was upped to 109 a week
on the lha rates website it says 114 pounds a week
she rang an they said its only applicable to people who claim now she is not entiteled to the extra being 5 pounds a week
she has to top her rent by 25 ish pounds a month is there a way she can claim this 5 pounds or is there a loop hole somewhere or some info that she can quote to have this extra 5 pounds
i think it un fair that as she applied 2 yrs ago an she isnt entitled to the same amount as some one claiming now
thanks

Oldernotwiser

Your friend will be on HB and not LHA; the rates are different.

daisy_doughnut_2

no she is on LHA
i did think this myself so i checked

bigbill

When you first go onto LHA the rate you get that month is fixed for one year, as she has had HB before LHA was introduced I doubt she is on LHA unless there has been changes to her claim since April 2008.

If she has LHA and she stopped the claim for one week, losing £109 she will then re-claim and go onto the new £114 rate.

It will take her over 22 weeks to recoup her losses and start making a profit under the new LHA rate.

Make sure she will not lose as she is only entitled to the LHA rate for a one bedroom if over 25 or the shared room rate if under, or the two room rate if she is a parent?

She will need to decide if its worth it.

daisy_doughnut_2

see this is where the lady confused us
she was on hb that changed to lha around 2-3 yrs ago
her rate then was 96 pounds a week
then in april this yr she recieved a letter saying that it was to rise to 109
the lady on the phone said this was because the lha for her area was concidered to low an everyone got it
but if she were to claim now then she would be awarded 114

it just doesnt make sence why when there is an icrease she isnt entitled to it

daisy_doughnut_2

if she was on hb before the lha was introduced is she not on lha but still on hb its so confusing as the hb would be lower she actually gained

Oldernotwiser

Sorry, you've lost me!

fluffymovie

Hi.

There were 9 authorities piloting LHA from 2003 and this increased to 18 in 2006. It is therefore possible that she is on LHA!

If this is the case, then her case is different as she would be covered by transitional protection.

At my authority, we allow claimants to break their claim for a week to move onto LHA but this area of the regulations are open to interpretation and I am aware that not all places are allowing this. If she is on what is called the Old Scheme "October Deregulated Tenancies" basically from 96 onwards pre LHA, she may be able to lose a week's HB to gain the extra weekly LHA

Just a thought!