What is Local Housing Allowance (LHA)?
LHA is a form of Housing Benefit which provides help to people on low incomes who pay rent to private landlords.
It does not apply if you live in a property owned by a Housing Association such as Tor Homes.
If you live in a Housing Association property go to Housing Benefit.
How does it work?
We compare your ‘income’ against your ‘needs’ – using figures provided by the government. If you have a partner your income and needs will be considered jointly.
- To work out your income, we add together your earnings and any unearned income you have – although we don’t count some amounts; we ‘disregard’ them. We include a figure based on any savings you may have - but your home does not count as savings.
- Your needs are based on the size and circumstances of your family.
- The Benefit may be reduced if any non-dependants live with you.
- The figure for rent we have to use may not necessarily be the actual amount of rent your landlord charges you.
Do I qualify?
To find out if you’re likely to get some help go to benefits calculator or ring us on 01803 861158
How to claim
There are no long forms to fill in - just telephone 01803 861158 and we will ask you a few questions to find out if you’re likely to qualify. If you are, we will make an appointment to visit you at a time convenient to you. We will also explain what information we need and the documents we will need to see. Once we have all the information, we aim to tell you within 5 days how much help you should get.
If you claim LHA you will also automatically be considered for Council Tax Benefit which could reduce your Council Tax bill.
For LHA, rent for benefit purposes is based on:
- the number of bedrooms you need and
- the rent for that sized property, decided by the Rent Service for properties in the South Hams area. For rent purposes the South Hams area is split into 2 districts - Devon South and Plymouth.
Once you have worked out the number of bedrooms you need, you can use the online room calculator to find out how much rent your LHA will be based on for the property you live in. A maximum of four bedrooms will apply from April 2011.
LHA is calculated using rents set by the Rent Service for the area you live in and the number of bedrooms you need – not the actual amount of rent you pay your landlord.
The Rent Service reviews and publishes the rent levels each year. You can find details of the current rent levels here Local Housing Allowance rates. This will be the maximum amount of LHA you can be awarded.
If the actual rent you pay is more than the LHA you are entitled to, you will have to pay your landlord the difference.
When to claim
If you think you may qualify, you should apply as soon as possible because Benefit is normally paid from the Monday following the date you contact us. But under some exceptional circumstances we may be able to backdate your claim.
How payment will be made
Payment will usually be made either two weekly or four weekly in arrears, and will be paid directly into your bank/building society account. You no longer have the option of asking the council to make payments direct to your landlord.
If you do not have a bank account we will help you to open one. This will also enable you to set up a standing order to make sure payment then goes direct to your landlord.
If you are overdrawn and worried that the money will not be there to pay your rent, you can ask your bank to only use that money for your rent. You must do this before the first LHA payment goes in to your bank account. This is called the 'first right of appropriation' - see 
Citizens Advice Bureau Advice Guide.
However, if you have arrears of 8 weeks or more, your landlord has the right to approach the Council to ask for payments to be made direct to them. We would need to see evidence of the arrears.
We can also consider paying a landlord direct if we consider that a tenant is unlikely to pay their rent, or if we think that a tenant cannot handle their own affairs. However, we will not operate a blanket policy, and each case will be decided individually depending on the circumstances - see our LHA Safeguard Policy.
Sample of a Right of Appropriation Letter to your Bank.
DHP - Discretionary Housing Payments
If you get some housing benefit or council tax benefit, but are having difficulty paying the rest of your rent or council tax yourself, you may be able to get a discretionary housing payment.
If your circumstances change
If your claim is successful, you must tell us if there is a change of circumstances in either your personal or financial life which might affect your claim. Failure to do so could result in a prosecution for fraud or losing your benefit.
Preventing fraud
We have a fraud-line where you can anonymously give information about any fraudulent claimant - we will fully investigate every report we receive. If you suspect someone's committing benefit fraud - call our 24 hour Benefit Fraud Line on (01803) 861282.
Appeals
If you want to know more about a decision regarding your benefit entitlement, or if you think it is wrong, you should contact us as soon as possible.
If there is anything you are unclear about, we can provide you with an explanation. If you disagree with a decision you can ask us to look at it again. If we cannot change the decision we will tell you why.
If you still disagree, you have one month to appeal, from the date of the new decision.
Benefit changes
See our Housing Benefit Changes page.
How to contact us |
We are open during the following times except for public holidays and certain days over Christmas (details will be available on the Council’s website during December) Phone us: phone lines open 8:30 - 5:00, Monday to Friday.
To make a new benefit claim: 01803 861158.
To report benefit fraud: 01803 861381.
Other benefit or council enquiries: 01803 861234. Email us: customer.services@southhams.gov.uk
Please note, if you email us we will acknowledge receipt of your email, but we will not deal with your request by email if it involves disclosing any personal information. We will either telephone or write to you. Write to us: SHDC, Follaton House, Plymouth Road, TOTNES, TQ9 5NE. Fax us: 01803 866151. Visit us at: Follaton House, Plymouth Road, Totnes, TQ9 5NE.
Office opening hours 8:30 - 5:00, Monday to Friday. |
Further information
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