LHA Rates
The LHA Rates are provided by the Valuation Office Agency every month and detail the maximum housing benefit a person can get. The amount a person will actually receive depends on their income and savings.
Rates for the previous 12 months are available in the downloads menu at the right hand side of this page.
The rates are:
Weekly local housing allowance rates
April 2012
| Bedrooms |
LHA Rate |
| One bedroom in a shared house |
£52.00 |
| 1 bedroom |
£91.15 |
| 2 bedrooms |
£114.23 |
| 3 bedrooms |
£126.92 |
| 4 bedrooms |
£138.46 |
A different rate may apply to properties in postcode LA6. If you are considering renting a property with this postcode, please contact us with the details to check the LHA rate which will apply
From April 2012, LHA rates will remain the same up to April 2013. From April 2013, LHA rates will increase by the rate of inflation (CPI) as it stood in September 2012.
The Valuation Office will also calculate LHA rates using rental information from September 2012. If this results in amounts lower than those calculated then these rates will be used from April 2013.
How many bedrooms does a household need?
One bedroom is allowed for:
- Every adult who is single
- Every adult couple
- Any 2 children under the age of 10
- Any 2 children of the same sex under the age of 16
- Any other child
Please note that changes to the local housing allowance scheme have come into effect from 01 April 2011, and this will mean that if you need more than 4 bedrooms, the rate of LHA used in the calculation of housing benefit will be restricted to the 4 bedroom rate.
Most young people under the age of 35 will have their housing benefit assessed on the LHA rate for one bedroom in a shared house. Before January 2012 this only applied to those under 25.