LHA rate effect on Housing Benefit.

wickedlemon

I'm trying to understand how Housing Benefit works, since Turn2Us highlighted I may be entitled to it. I've tried my local council's benefit calculator and the result I get varies greatly so I'm trying to get my head around how the calculations are made.

Does LHA rate have any influence on the amount of Housing Benefit you receive, or is it purely a cap that Benefits will not be paid above? So would somebody moving between areas, with no changes in income or family circumstances, receive the same amount so long as they were within the LHA rate?

Thanks

Pigletto

LHA and HB don't affect each other.

HB is the old system and is still paid out for tenants of social housing. There were some private tenants still recieving HB if they had applied before the new system came into place and had not had a break in their claim. I'm not sure if this is still the case.

LHA is the relatively new system for private tenants. Any new claim including those for tenants moving house will be assessed for LHA.

Is your new rent going to be the same amount as your old rent? If so and there has been no other change in your circumstances and the LHA rate is the same for each area - then yes the LHA paid should remain the same.

Pigletto

The only thing should be the LHA rate for the area. Otherwise everything else is based on income and savings of the claimant and any other adults in the household. All the LHA and HB rules are nationwide so one Council can't choose to assess the claim under different rules than the others.

Edit: Forgot to say that these calculators are not always an accurate guide.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

This link will give you the LHA rate (for private renting) for your area.

https://lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/Secure/LHARateSearch.aspx?SearchType=PostCode

The amount you actually receive depends on how many bedrooms you need & your income etc.

Svenena

wickedlemon wrote: »

Does LHA rate have any influence on the amount of Housing Benefit you receive, or is it purely a cap that Benefits will not be paid above? So would somebody moving between areas, with no changes in income or family circumstances, receive the same amount so long as they were within the LHA rate?

LHA rates vary around the country, so if you're moving to a different area the LHA rate (which is the amount you'd receive if you were entitled to full support), you'd be subject to the new area's LHA. If you're not entitled to the full amount you may be entitled to a percentage of it, depending on your income.

wickedlemon wrote: »

Every council seems to use the same generic calculator. I've tried several from around the country and they all give the same figure (and same as turn2us approx) except my local council which is half the amount! What other variables are there between councils?

I assume the calculators require you to enter the maximum LHA amount for yourself (as this will differ from person to person, depending on which rate they're eligible for), so if you're putting the same figure in each time, you'll get the same results. If you're looking up the different rates for each area, you should get a more accurate figure.

HTH

Jowo_2

wickedlemon wrote: »

..

Would anyone like to take a stab at why my local council's Benefits Calculator at http://www.hastings.gov.uk/housing_benefit/hb_calculator.aspx gives a different result (approx 50%) than any other councils which all give exactly the same result if you enter exactly the same details. :huh:

LHA rates are postcode dependent - could this be a factor when you use another council's website? Are you sure you are keying in exactly the same info? How does the hastings council site compare with the sum that Turn2us say you are due?

HappyMJ

wickedlemon wrote: »

The Turn2Us figure matches every other council calculator I've tried ( to within a pound or two) - except my local one (and Kirklees)! And yes I've entered exactly the same info on them all, several times.

If anyone wants to check this, I've tried uses the following figures for simplicity and get one of either two totally different results depending on which council site I go to. I wonder if there have been some tax/benefits changes and one calculator version is out of date?

Sample data:
Rent: 1000 pm
LHA: 165
Council Tax: 1500
Income: 2000
Tax and NI: 250
Pension: 100
Children: 2
CTC+WTC: 100
Childcare: 100

Results are either £80.55 or £55.68

You have a big difference between the actual rent and the LHA rent. The LHA/HB will only cover £715 of the £1000 rent each month. You'll need to find £285 extra each month. Have you checked what the LHA rate will be from April 2011. It's going down...quite a lot for large houses. Possibly by around £65 per month. Can you afford to find that money?

Check the exact rate here -- > http://www.voa.gov.uk/LHADirect/Documents/LHA_percentile_rates_Jan_2011.html