Local Housing Allowance

Local Housing Allowance is a way of working out claims for Housing Benefit for tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord. All new tenants and tenants who have had certain changes in their circumstances since April 2008 are paid under the Local Housing Allowance scheme.

The amount of Housing Benefit you get under LHA rules depends on: 

• who lives with you – this is used to work out the number of bedrooms you are entitled to 
• what part of Gwynedd  you live in – there are different  Local Housing Allowance Rates
• how much money you have coming in 
• what savings you have 
• the amount of rent you pay 

How many bedrooms are you entitled to?

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

The number of bedrooms you are entitled to is then used to work out which LHA rate applies to your claim.

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.
• carers, if care is required in the house overnight

What else might affect the Local Housing Allowance rate?

There are extra rules if you are:

• 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
• a joint tenant

How do you get your benefit paid?

With LHA, Housing Benefit  is usually paid to you and not to your landlord. You cannot choose to have your benefit paid direct to your landlord just because it’s more convenient. But we can pay benefit to your landlord if we decide that you are likely to have difficulty paying your rent.

If Housing Benefit is paid directly to you, it will be paid into your bank or building society account, if you have one, or by cheque.

If you do not already have a bank or building society account, you may want to set one up. 

You can get advice about opening and running a bank account from any bank or building society. You can also get advice from us, or from a welfare organisation such as Citizens Advice.

Housing Benefit paid direct to your landlord

Your Housing Benefit is paid to you unless you are likely to have difficulty paying your rent, when it can be paid to your landlord.

• Make an application for direct payment to your Landlord

If you are worried about managing your money, please contact us to discuss: Contact Us