Index of information on this page

• Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

• How much LHA am I entitled to?

• How many bedrooms am I allowed?

• Changes that may affect you if you are aged between 25 and 34

• What changes in my circumstances should I tell you about?

• How is LHA paid?

• Contact Details

• Useful websites

• Information Leaflets

• Language Services

Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is used to work out claims for Housing Benefit for tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord, based on how many bedrooms your household needs. 

This includes:

• Private tenants who make a new claim after 7 April 2008.
• Existing claimants who have a change of address and move to a private tenancy.
• Existing claimants who have a break in their Housing Benefit claim after 7 April 2008.
• Existing claimants will remain on the current Housing Benefit scheme until one of the above events take place.

Claimants who rent from Housing Associations, have a tenancy that started prior to 1989 or reside in supported accommodation will not move onto LHA.

Local Housing Allowance is designed to be a fairer and simpler way of working out how much help with your rent we can give you. It is intended to give you more choice and allow you to choose the quality and price of your accommodation as you will have a clearer idea of the amount of LHA you will be entitled to.

• The maximum amount of help you can receive is the four bedroom rate.
• There is a maximum amount payable for each property size.
• The LHA rate is set at one third from the bottom of rents for properties in your area.   
  
  

Your Housing Benefit will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate which applies to you. The Local Housing Allowance rate which applies to you will depend on the number of bedrooms you are allowed and the area where you live.

The amount of benefit you can get may be affected by: 

• any money you have coming in, for example, earnings
• any savings you have
• 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 much LHA am I entitled to?

The Local Housing Allowance rates for the Northumberland County Council area, covering the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 are displayed in our Customer Service Offices and are shown in the table below.

Northumberland Council consists of four Broad Market Rental Areas: Northumberland, Tyneside, Durham and North Cumbria.  If you are unsure which area your property falls into either contact the Benefit Section who will advise you of the area, or alternatively click here to access LHA Direct website where you may search for your postcode.

If you contact the Benefits Section and inform us of your income and family details we will be able to provide you with an estimate of your actual LHA award.

How many bedrooms am I allowed?

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

The number of bedrooms you are allowed is then used to work out which Local Housing Allowance rate usually applies to you.

You can use the following information as a guide to work out how many bedrooms you are allowed or
click on the bedroom calculator which will work it out for you.

You are allowed 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
• an overnight carer if appropriate (please contact us on 0845 600 6400 for further guidance)
  

We do not count joint tenants.

It was announced on 12 March 2013, that the rules will also be clarified for two other specific groups of housing benefit recipients from 1 April 2013 – foster carers and armed forces personnel:

• If you or your partner is caring for a foster child or have been accepted as a foster carer but have no child living with you an additional bedroom will be allowed as long as the period without a child does not exceed 52 weeks.
  
  
• Adult children who are in the armed forces and continue to live with their parents will be treated as continuing to live at home even when they are deployed on operations. This means that the size criteria rules will not apply to the room normally occupied by the member of the armed forces.

The maximum allowance is FOUR bedrooms.

Changes that may affect you if you are aged between 25 and 34

From 1 January 2012 the Government has made changes to the way Housing Benefit is calculated for those who are single and aged 25 to 34 and rent from a private landlord.  Click here for further information.

What changes in my circumstances should I tell you about?

You should always tell us about any change that might affect your benefit.  If somebody moves in or out of your household, you must tell us.  We will then change your maximum housing benefit to the correct LHA rate for the new size of your household.  If someone in your household has a birthday that will affect the LHA rate (for example when a child turns 16), we may also need to change your LHA as that person may then need an extra room.

How is LHA paid?

As a tenant you are responsible for paying your rent to your landlord.  If you are having problems obtaining or managing a bank account contact us on 0845 600 6400 and we will be able to provide help with this. 

In some exceptional cases we may be able to pay direct to your landlord. 
For further details please click here to view our LHA Safeguard Policy.

Contact Details

Benefits Section

Northumberland County Council

Wansbeck Square

Ashington

Northumberland

NE63 9XL

Tel No 0845 6006400

Fax No: 01670 620098

E-Mail: benefits@northumberland.gov.uk

Useful Websites:

Citizens Advice

Gov.uk

Money Advice Service

Age UK

LHA Direct Postcode Search

Information Leaflets:

LHA Frequently Asked questions leaflet

Basic Bank Accounts Guidance

Language Services

If you would like any benefit document in a different format, or if you need any help with language or translations please telephone 0845 6006400 and we will do all we can to help.