Who will not be affected by Local Housing Allowance?
Local Housing Allowance will not apply to you if:
- You rent your home from the council.
- You rent your home from a registered social landlord, for example, a housing association.
- You live in supported housing provided by a housing association or registered charity or voluntary organisation.
- You live in a caravan, houseboat or hostel.
- A substantial part of your rent is for board and attendance, for example, if you live in hotel accommodation.
- Your tenancy is protected from rent restrictions, for example, tenancies which were entered into before January 1989.
If any of the above circumstances apply to you, your Housing Benefit will continue to be worked out under the current rules.
How will Local Housing Allowance work?
Local Housing Allowance is a flat rate allowance based on the number of bedrooms you need, not how many bedrooms your home actually has or how much rent you have to pay. The number of bedrooms allowed depends on who lives with you as part of your household. Generally, one bedroom will be allowed for:
- every adult couple.
- any other adult aged 16 or over.
- any two children of the same sex.
- any two children regardless of sex under 10.
- any other child.
For example, a couple with two children under 10 would be allowed two bedrooms.
The Local Housing Allowance rates will be set each month by the Rent Service. There will be different Local Housing Allowance rates for:
- shared accommodation (this will apply to most single people under the age of 25).
- 1 bedroom property.
- 2 bedroom property.
- 3 bedroom property.
- 4 bedroom property.
- 5 bedroom property.
Special rules for single people over 25 and couples with no children.
Single people over the age of 25 and couples with no children will only be allowed the 1 bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate if they actually rent a property of at least this size. If these people are living in accommodation where they share facilities like a living room, kitchen or bathroom, they will only be allowed the Local Housing Allowance rate for shared accommodation.
The Local Housing Allowance rates will be published every month on:
Website: www.doncaster.gov.uk
so that landlords and prospective tenants are clear about the maximum amount of rent Housing Benefit will cover.
The Local Housing Allowance rate that applies to the month in which your Housing Benefit claim started will be used for calculations. Unless you have a change in circumstances, this rate will be used for 12 months after which it will be reviewed. You may have a change in circumstances that affects your Local Housing Allowance rate, for example, if someone moves into your home and this means you need more bedrooms. If this happens, your Local Housing Allowance rate will be reviewed from when the change occurs.
How will Local Housing Allowance affect how much Housing Benefit you get?
If your Local Housing Allowance rate is less than the rent you have to pay, your Housing Benefit will be based on the Local Housing Allowance.
If your Local Housing Allowance rate is more than the rent you have to pay, you will be able to keep the difference up to a maximum of £15.00 a week.
For example:
- Your rent charge is £70.00
- Your Local Housing Allowance rate is £90.00
- The maximum amount of Housing Benefit you will get is £85.00
Any extra money you get will not be taken into account for benefit purposes.
As well as the appropriate Local Housing Allowance rate, your income, any savings you have and any non-dependants living with you will also affect your Housing Benefit.
Payment of Local Housing Allowance
Under the Local Housing Allowance rules the payment will normally be sent to you. You will then be responsible for paying your rent to your landlord. It is very important that you do this so that you do not lose your home. If you are evicted from your home because you have not paid the rent to your landlord, you may find it very difficult to find other accommodation. Also, you may have to pay court costs on top of the rent arrears you owe and the Housing Benefit will not be paid directly to you if you make a claim at another address.
An easy way for you to pay your rent to your landlord is to have your Housing Benefit paid into your bank account. You can then set up a standing order to automatically pay your rent into your landlord's bank account. As long as you have enough money in your account, you won't have to worry about remembering to pay your rent and your landlord will know the rent will be paid automatically.
Your Housing Benefit cannot be paid to your landlord just because you request it. However, because some tenants may struggle with the responsibility of paying their rent, safeguards will be put in place. Under Local Housing Allowance rules, it is possible to have your Housing Benefit paid directly to your landlord if:
- you have rent arrears of eight weeks or more.
- it is considered that you cannot manage your own affairs, (for example, if you were previously homeless, have learning difficulties, have certain medical conditions, or have a drug or alcohol problem that would mean you may have problems managing a budget).
- if it is thought that you are unlikely to pat your rent (for example, if you have consistently failed to pay your rent in the past).
- you are owed a large amount of benefit, for example, the first payment of Housing Benefit if this is for several weeks rent. In these cases the first payment of Housing Benefit would be sent by cheque to you but made payable to your landlord.
If it is decided to pay your landlord directly your circumstances will be reviewed regularly to check it is still appropriate to pay your landlord.
If your Housing Benefit is paid to your landlord, it can only be paid up to the amount of the rent due plus any rent arrears. If you are entitled to more Housing Benefit than your rent charge because your Local Housing Allowance rate is more, you will be paid the difference.
If you are already claiming Housing Benefit...........
Remember, Local Housing Allowance will not apply to you unless you move or have a break in your Housing Benefit and make a new claim.
Further Information
If you have any more questions about Local Housing Allowance and how it affects you please contact your local benefits office. You can also get further general information about Local Housing Allowance from the Department for Work and Pensions'
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/lha
This website gives more information about why Local Housing Allowance is being introduced. The website also includes evaluation reports from the Pathfinder authorities that have been operating Local Housing Allowance for the past few years.
For more information contact:
Doncaster Council
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Section
3rd Floor
Colonnades House
Duke Street
Doncaster
DN1 1ER
Tel: 01302 735 336 (general enquiries)
Fax: 01302 734 373
Minicom: 01302 735 322
E-mail: housing.benefit@doncaster.gov.uk (general enquiries only)
Website: www.doncaster.gov.uk
Open: Counter on ground floor of Colonnades House is open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:00pm.
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