Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

Please select the following to see the latest Local Housing Allowance Rates |for Gateshead.

If you make a new claim for Housing Benefit for a privately rented property on or after 7 April 2008, any entitlement to benefit will be worked out using the Local Housing Allowance rates.

These changes only affect tenants who rent their home from a private landlord - not Gateshead Housing Company or Housing Association tenants. 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 moving into work) any new claim for benefit will be worked out using the Local Housing Allowance rates.

If you are making a new claim or you move home after 7 April 2008, you will have your benefit paid directly to you under Local Housing Allowance.We will pay your benefit directly into your bank account (however, we cannot pay Housing Benefit into a Post Office Card Account). It will then be your responsibility to ensure your rent is paid to your landlord. Please contact us if you need help to open a suitable bank account.

Changes to Housing and Council Tax Benefit from April 2011

The Government has made changes to housing and council tax benefit if you rent from a private landlord. These new changes start in April 2011.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rules have changed. This is the scheme we use to work out how much help you get towards your rent, based on how many bedrooms your household needs. The rules have changed so that:

The maximum amount of help you can receive will be the four bedroom rate
There is now a maximum amount payable for each property size
Where your rent is less than the current LHA rate, you are presently allowed to keep a maximum of up to £15 over and above your rent (an excess). This will stop.
At present the LHA rate is set at the middle point of rents for properties in your area. This will change to the rent that is one third from the bottom. This means that the rates we use to calculate your benefit will go down, and so will the amount of benefit you receive

When will this apply from?

If your Local Housing Allowance rate changes, you move address, or you are making a new claim, this will happen straight away.

Otherwise the excess payment will stop on the first anniversary of your claim after 1 April 2011 and the other changes will happen nine months after this.

We will write to you before the anniversary so you know when it is.

Changes happening from January 2012

Changes to benefit for single people aged between 25 and 35, living alone in private rented self-contained accommodation.

From 1st January 2012, the most we can pay for any new claim for housing benefit will be £58.00 a week. This is because we have to use a new lower rate. This already applies if you are presently aged under 25.

People already on benefit may be receiving anything up to £91.15 a week. Between 1st January 2012 and December 2012, the rate used to work out your benefit will change to the new, lower rate. This will happen on the anniversary date of your claim.

What is my anniversary date?

This is either the date your claim started, the date you may have moved house, or the date you have had a household change which means you need a different room rate. We can tell you when your anniversary date is.

When will the lower rates apply to me?

If you have made a claim after 1st April 2011 – from your first anniversary after 1st January 2012

If you have made a claim before 1st April 2011 this could apply from a number of different dates:

If your benefit is based on a rent set by the rent officer, from the first review date after 1st January 2012.
If you have already moved or intend to move between 1st April 2011 and 31st December 2011, from the first anniversary after 1st January 2012
If you move on or after the 1st January 2012, from that date.
If you have had an anniversary since 1st April 2011, and are receiving 9 month’s protection, from the date your protection ends. We will have told you on your benefit notification if you are protected
If you have had an anniversary date since 1st April 2011, and have not been told on your benefit notification that you are protected, from the date of your next anniversary.
If your anniversary falls between 1st January 2012 and 31st March 2012, you will be protected and the lower rate will apply from the date your protection ends. Your protection will end after 9 months, or if you stop claiming, move house, or have a household change that requires a new room rate.

In all other cases, nine months after the first anniversary after 1st April 2011.

We will be writing to people before this applies. Your most recent benefit notification will tell you if you are protected. If you are unsure when your anniversary is, or when this will affect you, please contact us by e-mailing benefit enquiries@gateshead.gov.uk| or by telephoning 0191 4334646.

People this does not apply to

This does not apply if you:

are aged under 22 and have been in social services care or accommodation
need an overnight carer
receive certain disability benefits
have spent three months or more in a homeless hostel and receive support
are an ex-offender who is subject to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

What will this mean for me?

For most people, it means you will get less help with your rent. You may need to consider moving to cheaper accommodation or renegotiating your rent with your current landlord.

Gateshead Council