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- Local Housing Allowance - Information for Private Landlords
- Local Housing Allowance - Information for Private Tenants
- Local Housing Allowance - Information for Vulnerable People
- Local Housing Allowance - Money Advice for Tenants
Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for Aberdeen City
April 2012
| Number of Bedrooms | Weekly Rate | Calendar Monthly Equivalent* |
|---|---|---|
| Shared room rate | £69.23 | £299.99 |
| 1 Bedroom | £121.15 | £524.98 |
| 2 Bedrooms | £150.00 | £650.00 |
| 3 Bedrooms | £167.31 | £725.00 |
| 4 Bedrooms | £213.46 | £924.99 |
*To calculate the Calendar Monthly Equivalent, multiply the weekly rate by 4.3333.
2012 Rates
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates March 2012
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates February 2012
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates January 2012
2011 Rates
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates December 2011
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates November 2011
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates October 2011
LHA changes from April 2011
Please note: the Local Housing Allowance downloadable documents to the right do not contain any information on the April 2011 changes. These are currently being updated and will shortly be available to download.
The majority of the April Housing Benefit changes impacts on tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord and receiving Local Housing Allowance (LHA). The measures to reduce LHA rates detailed below will come into effect for all new claims from April 2011.
The changes are:
- Removal of £15 excess
- Removal of the 5 bed rate
- Cap on Local Housing Rates
- Local Housing Allowance rates set at 30th percentile rather than the median
- Transitional protection
- Direct payment safeguard
- New provision for a non resident carer
- LHA shared room rate extended to under 35
15 Excess
The excess of up to £15 which claimants could receive where LHA was greater than their contractual rental charge will be removed. For new claims from April 2011 and for existing cases at their claim review date.
5 Bed Rate
From April 2011 LHA rates will be restricted to a maximum of the 4 bedroom rate.
Cap on LHA rates
The new upper limit which is to be introduced for each property size will not affect any cases in the Aberdeen area as the LHA rate set is significantly lower than the new upper limit.
| Number of bedrooms | LHA cap from April 2011 | LHA weekly rate April 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Bedroom | £250 | £115.38 |
| 2 Bedroom | £290 | £136.15 |
| 3 Bedroom | £340 | £150.00 |
| 4 Bedroom | £400 | £196.15 |
LHA rates set at 30th percentile
LHA rates will be reduced so that about 3 in 10 properties for rent in the area should be affordable to people on Housing Benefit. At the moment about 5 in 10 properties in each area are affordable to people receiving Housing Benefit.
In order to show the reduction, listed below is the March 2011 LHA rates and the April 2011 LHA rates.
| Number of bedrooms | LHA weekly rate March 2011 | LHA weekly rate April 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Bedroom | £122.31 | £115.38 |
| 2 Bedroom | £150.00 | £136.15 |
| 3 Bedroom | £173.08 | £150.00 |
| 4 Bedroom | £219.23 | £196.15 |
Transitional Protection
Existing Housing Benefit recipients will receive transitional protection of up to 9 months following their claim review date. This means that many existing recipients will not be affected until January 2012 and some will see no change until December 2012.
Direct Payment Safeguard
Discretion is being given to pay Housing Benefit direct to landlords if it will assist in securing or retaining a tenancy. This is a temporary provision which will remain in place until further decisions are made regarding direct payments of benefit.
Department for Work and Pensions guidance states this should only be considered where the claimants rent has been set at, or reduced to "an affordable" level. This will normally be the LHA rate applicable to the claimant. Consideration will however, be given where the claimant has other means of making up the shortfall in rent.
Evidence of a rent reduction will need to be provided before applying the safeguard i.e. tenancy agreement.
If the rent increases above an affordable level, or the claimant has a change in circumstances entitling them to a lower level of LHA direct payment can be withdrawn.
New provision for non resident carers
The size criteria in private rented accommodation will be adjusted to provide an additional bedroom for a non resident carer. This will apply where the tenant, their partner or both need an overnight carer. It will not apply to other members of the household including children.
LHA - shared room rate
The LHA shared room rate (and single room rent in the old scheme) which applies to most single people under 25 will be extended to people aged under 35.
This change was originally planned for April 2012 but has been brought forward 3 months and will take affect from January 2012 to coincide with the end of the transitional protection for existing tenants.
This means that single claimants under the age of 35 making a new claim on or after 1 January 2012 will be entitled to the shared room rate rather than the one-bedroom rate. Existing claimants will move to the shared room rate at the same time as their transitional protection ceases.
This restriction does not apply to single people who have a disability and qualify for a severe disability premium in the assessment of their Housing Benefit, Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based).
To qualify for a severe disability premium the recipient must receive one of the following benefits:
- The middle or highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance
- Attendance Allowance at any rate
- A benefit which is treated as Attendance Allowance
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