Working out your Allowance

To work out how much benefit you might get you need to:

1. Work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to and which LHA rate applies to you - this is shown below.
2. Check the LHA rate for the area you want to live in.
3. Find out if you can get the full amount of benefit. The amount of benefit you can get may be affected by:

• any money you have coming in
  • any savings you have
  • how much your rent is
  • if we expect anyone living with you to pay towards your rent
  • if you share paying the rent with someone else who is not your partner.

How many bedrooms am I entitled to?

The number of people who live with you is used to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to. We do not count other rooms such as a living room, kitchen or bathroom.

The number of bedrooms you are entitled to is then used to work out which Local Housing Allowance rate usually applies to you. In some cases, there are some more rules - these are looked at below.

You can use the following information as a guide to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to. You are entitled to one bedroom for:

• every adult couple (married or unmarried)
• any other adult aged 16 or over
• any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• any two children aged under 10
• any other child.
• non-resident carer.

What else might affect the Local Housing Allowance rate?

There are extra rules if you are:

• aged 35 or over, single and do not live with any dependants
• aged under 35, single and do not live with any dependants
• a couple and do not live with any dependants
• you are a care leaver aged under 22
• you are severely disabled

These extra rules are covered in separate leaflets that you can get from us at the address to the right.

If you are a joint tenant this may affect the benefit you can get.  For more information about joint tenants, please get in touch with us.

Non-dependants

If you claim benefit you can only get it for yourself and your family. If you share a property with someone who is not part of your family, your benefit may be reduced. This is because we may expect them to pay towards your rent.

For more information about this, please get in touch with us.