Local Housing Allowance: An Introduction
Questions and answers about Local Housing Allowance (LHA)
What is Local Housing Allowance?
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a new way of working out new claims for Housing Benefit for tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord. It also affects tenants already getting Housing Benefit who move into accommodation rented from a private landlord.
If you live in council accommodation or other social housing, LHA will not affect you.
With LHA, your benefit is not usually based on the property you live in but is based on:
- who lives with you
- which area you live in
- how much money you have coming in
- what savings you have.
In some cases the amount of benefit you are entitled to will be affected by other things. These can include:
- how much your rent is
- whether anyone living with you is expected to contribute to your rent.
See 'Working out your Local Housing Allowance', for more details about this.