Slough Borough Council: Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a new way of working out new claims for Housing Benefit for tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord in Slough and nationally. It also affects tenants already getting Housing Benefit who move into accommodation rented from a private landlord. Local Housing Allowance is being introduced on 7 April, 2008. If you live in council accommodation or other social housing, Local Housing Allowance will not affect you.

If you are already getting Housing Benefit on 7 April 2008, you will not be affected by these changes unless:

you move address to a home rented from a private landlord – you must tell us if you change address
you have a break in your claim – if you stop claiming Housing Benefit for any reason (for example, starting employment) any new claim for benefit will be worked out using the Local Housing Allowance rates

With Local Housing Allowance, your benefit is not usually based on the property you live in. It is usually 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

Why are we introducing Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance gives tenants more choice in where they live and it's fairer too. This is because with Local Housing Allowance:

you will be entitled to the same amount of benefit as people in the same circumstances as you
you can find out how much benefit you can get before you rent a property
you can decide how much of your benefit you want to spend on renting a property
you will usually get your benefit paid to you - it will be up to you to pay the rent to your landlord
you will find out about your benefit more quickly than before

Below you will find more information and a list of external useful links to websites.

You can also get help and advice from the Council’s local Customer Service Centre on telephone 01753 475111. Or visit the MyCouncil Customer Services Department at Landmark Place, High Street, Slough, SL1 1JL.

You can get independent advice about your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit from the Citizens Advice Bureau or the Benefits Advice and Tribunal Unit.