Working out your Local Housing Allowance
To work out how much your benefit will be based on you need to:
- Work out how many bedrooms your household needs and which Local Housing Allowance rate applies to you
- Check the Local Housing Allowance rates for the area you want to live in
- Find out if you can get the full amount of benefit. The amount of benefit you can get may be affected by:
- the money you have coming in
- the savings you have
- how much your rent is
- 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 many bedrooms does my household need?
The number of people who live with you is used to work out how many bedrooms you need. We do not count other rooms such as a living room, kitchen or bathroom.
Each of the following is classed as needing one bedroom:
- 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
The number of bedrooms you need is then used to work out which Local Housing Allowance rate usually applies to you. In some cases there are different rules.
If you are under 25 and single without children you are assessed as needing a bedroom in a shared home whether you share a home or not.
How many rooms are single tenants living in bed-sit or studio accommodation entitled to?
Where a tenant does not have exclusive use of more than one room and shares any or all of a kitchen, a room suitable for living in, or a bathroom or toilet, Local Housing Allowance is based on what is called a 'shared accommodation rate'.
What if I have fewer rooms than I need?
Local Housing Allowance is only based on the number of rooms you are deemed as needing and not the number of room that are in the property.
Joint Tenants
If you are a joint tenant this may affect the benefit you can get. Please contact us for more information.
