You are here: Home > Advice and benefits > Benefits > Housing benefit > Local Housing Allowance

Local Housing Allowance

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) will be used to work out most new claims for Housing Benefit (HB) for tenants renting from a private landlord. You will not get LHA if:

you are a council or housing association tenant
your tenancy started before 1989
you live in a caravan, mobile home or house boat

But you may still get the old-style Housing Benefit to help you with your rent.

If you are a private tenant with an existing claim you will continue to get the old-style Housing Benefit.

From 7 April 2008 if you are a private tenant making a claim for the first time, or at a new address, or following a break in entitlement, your benefit will be worked out under the new Local Housing Allowance.

In this section:

How LHA is worked out
Information on how Local Housing Allowance is worked out
How LHA is paid
LHA will generally be paid directly into your bank account
LHA rates
The local housing allowance rates will be set each month by the rent service
LHA room calculator
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate used to work out your Housing Benefit claim will depend on the number of bedrooms you need for your household. Use this calculator to work out how many bedrooms you need based on your circumstances.