Local Housing allowance

Chrysalis

well LHA wont apply to existing houseing benefit claimants which is good news but if anyone on housing benefit ever has to make a new claim then they would be moved to LHA.

lil_me

Chrysalis wrote: »

well LHA wont apply to existing houseing benefit claimants which is good news but if anyone on housing benefit ever has to make a new claim then they would be moved to LHA.

According to an update on our local council website, all claims before 1989 in the same tenancy will be exempt, but tenancies in place after that will not.

Bit of a shock for a friend of mine if this is correct, she'd based her entitlement on what she thought she was entitled 'rooms' wise off the Rent Service website, has had the tenancy since 2005 but it just goes off how many bedrooms. So she thought she was entitled to a 4 on there, when she's entitled to a 2. Looks like she'll have to find £21 a week in addition to the £45 she pays towards the rent now :eek:

suelees1

There should be no change until or unless there is a new claim after 7th April. Anyone receiving HB before this date will remain as they are and not be transferred onto LHA.

The info you saw on site might be that anyone who is a secure tenant will be exempt but I don't know whether this is right. It seems a coincidence as I think anyone who was a tenant in the same property before January 1989 would have had a 'secure' tenancy. These tenants have more protected rights than if they became tenants after this date. Don't take this as gospel though.

CatB_2

takoo wrote: »

I have had problems in getting to the heart of LHA. My finding so far are (but they are subject to change as I get deeper into LHA):

1. You must be a tenant of a private landlord.
2. You must meet certain benefit criteria.
3. LHA is paid on the number of rooms that you need for the number of persons in your household.
4. That is LHA you get does not depend on the actual number for rooms in your dwelling.
5. Also the LHA you get does not depend on the rent that you pay.
6. LHA is in effect set by the Rent Service for your area.
7. It is the median rent (roughly midddle) of the range of rents in the area.
8. The area is known as the broad market rental area (BMRA) of which there are (I seem to recall) about 200 to 350 but the number is likely to change.
9. I understand that the Rent officer surveys his always being updated recordsfor the rents in the BMRA.
10. He then gets the median rent from the list of rents for each 'size' of dwelling.
11. For each BMRA a list is published, esentially to local councils, for dwellings upto six rooms.
12. A family that needs more rooms should get a higher LHA by a 'claim'.
13. If you need six rooms you get the LHA for six rooms even though your dwelling has say three rooms.
14. If you receive more LHA than the rent you pay you keep the difference.
15. Information should be available in your BMRA for calculating need for rooms and the LHA ( the CAB, local council (housing office) or the Rent Service office)

Hope this makes it sense and helps.

Takoo

I found this very interesting, it hasn't been my experience. I applied for housing benefit at the end of March and was told by the person at the council offices that under LHA, although I am over 25 and single - thus entitled to the allowance for a single bedroom flat (approx £450) in my area, because I am currently sharing a flat to keep costs down I would only get the rate for a shared house (approx £235). Certainly not, get the higher rate and keep the difference. My rent currently falls between the two bands - I'd actually be better off if I moved out and found somewhere on my own at more cost to the council - mad!

The council officer is trying to push my claim through in time for it to fall under the old rules where they would probably accept that paying the whole of my rent in my current place was sensible.

suelees1

CatB wrote: »

...The council officer is trying to push my claim through in time for it to fall under the old rules where they would probably accept that paying the whole of my rent in my current place was sensible.

There are common rules for benefits and I can't see why LHA should be any different. I'd therefore assume your entitlement should be based on when you claim and not when it's finally processed.

perthperson

Hi, the website with the figures from the rent registration service applies to Housing Benefit not the new Local Housing Allowance.

Typically, the new system is paying higher amounts than people have been getting on Housing Benefit - just as well, because it is very difficult for people to find anything in this area that will be covered by Housing Benefit. (let alone landlords who will take HB claimants) Though I know that in pilot areas landlords have soon realised and raised rents accordingly and here the rents have definitely gone up considerably in the last few months possibly in anticipation of this.l

Anybody who is receiving Housing Benefit at the moment will continue on that system until there is a break in their claim (eg they get a job, stop the claim, then stop working again and have to claim HB again) or they move house. (this may change in the future and at some point they will prob move everyone off HB on to the new system)

Housing Benefit was paid based on the size, condition, location etc of the house but also would be reduced if it was considered that the house was too big for the household. So a single person in a 3 bed house would not be getting the full rent paid anyway (unless the rent was really low for such a size of house)

For Local Housing Allowance the whole country is divided into areas - in a city there might be several areas (probably loads in London) - more rural areas will be much bigger. Each area will have a flat rate set which will be paid to households according to how many bedrooms they will require - so there will be a one bedroom rate for single people/couples without children, a 2 bed rate for eg a family with 2 small children, a 3 bed rate for, say, a family with an older boy and girl, and so on. One good point is it means you will be able to find out how much you will get before you start looking for a flat.

Your income will still be taken into account as for Housing Benefit so if you are working but on a low wage there is a calculation to be done to see how much you will be entitled to - a local advice agency should normally be able to calculate how much you will have to contribute towards your rent before you take on a tenancy.

The other big change is that if you wanted Housing Benefit paid direct to your landlord you could just ask for that. With the new system it will always be paid to the tenant unless it can be shown that they are particularly vulnerable, for example a history of rent arrears, mental health probs etc etc - each case will be looked at individually - don't know how that's going to work out yet. Also people will have to have a bank account, not a post office account, for it to be paid into (into which it should be paid?:huh: ) and a lot of people have difficulty with that.

Hopefully it will mean quicker processing. Waiting to see how it works out.

perthperson

PS as far as I know someone who is over 25 will be entitled to the one bedroom flat rate - that's my understanding of it but don't quote me!

As with the old HB single people under 25 are still discriminated against and get a lower rate which is based on the cost of renting a room in a shared flat.

And (finally you'll be relieved to know!) if the rent is less than your particular rate of LHA you will be allowed to keep up to £15 a week of the difference - but that probably won't happen too often as landlords catch on to how much they can ask.

lil_me

http://lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk/LHASearchIntro.aspx

LHA calculator on there.

dmg24

lil_me wrote: »

http://lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk/LHASearchIntro.aspx

LHA calculator on there.

Figures for my area are considerably higher than the eligible rent was for HB, it appears that we now come under a different market area.

lil_me

The entitlement for many families is what will change things. For example my family were previously allowed a 4 ROOM property, would now be allowed a 2 BEDROOM property....hence would be a good £20 less per week allowance.....Even a 3 bedroom would only be £103 a week, having a giggle in Durham for that :rotfl: most want that per room (many student lets)