Housing Benefit

VikkiiKawaii

Hi,

Me and my partner have applied for LHA and were just wondering if anyone knows if you have to apply to rent the house first or tell the council first?

Vikkii

Stefon

Hi, Not quite sure what you are asking as LHA in our terms is Local Housing Association and not housing benefit. However if you are asking when do you apply for the benefit it is when you have been offered a house either by a landlord or LHA, they need to know what the property is and the rent and number of occupants.
good luck

baza52

LHA= local housing allowance

pmlindyloo

If you are renting privately then I suggest you look up what you will be entitled to as regards HA.

Go onto your local council website and find out what is the maximum HA they will pay for your circumstances.

They will not pay any more than the maximum - you will be expected to make up the difference yourself.

Don't forget that HA is calculated weekly and most rents are calculated monthly. To find out the monthly HA multiply the weekly one by 52 and divide by 12 (sorry, if you knew this - lots of people don't!)

VikkiiKawaii

pmlindyloo wrote: »

If you are renting privately then I suggest you look up what you will be entitled to as regards HA.

Go onto your local council website and find out what is the maximum HA they will pay for your circumstances.

They will not pay any more than the maximum - you will be expected to make up the difference yourself.

Don't forget that HA is calculated weekly and most rents are calculated monthly. To find out the monthly HA multiply the weekly one by 52 and divide by 12 (sorry, if you knew this - lots of people don't!)

We've already done that, was just wondering what we have to do next. Thanks anyway

RAS

You cannot apply for LHA until you have a house.

You need a copy of the rental agreement and/or rent book.

But the maximum amount you will get is decided by your circumstances (two adults = one bedroom rate) and the maximum LHA limit.

HappyMJ

RAS wrote: »

You cannot apply for LHA until you have a house.

You need a copy of the rental agreement and/or rent book.

But the maximum amount you will get is decided by your circumstances (two adults = one bedroom rate) and the maximum LHA limit.

You can claim LHA/HB in advance (up to 13 weeks for most people) before the tenancy starts but it will only be paid in arrears. A claimant will not get any money before the tenancy starts. If money is tight then this may be a way to show a landlord that LHA/HB will be paid once a tenancy is granted rather than possibly waiting for many months for all the paperwork to go through.