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Housing Benefit

Local Housing Allowance Rates

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are set by the Rent Officer, who works for the Department of Work and Pensions.

The table below shows the rates we will use to calculate the maximum possible Housing Benefit (HB) for people affected by the LHA. HB claims made, or treated as made, in a certain month will be based on the appropriate LHA rate for that month.

We explain how to decide which LHA rate would apply in 'Working out the Local Housing Allowance'.

The LHA came into force on 7 April 2008.

Size Weekly amount
October 2008 November 2008 December 2008
1 bedroom
shared accommodation
£ 87.46 £ 92.00 £ 85.00
1 bedroom
self-contained accommodation
£161.54 £161.54 £165.00
2 bedrooms £201.92 £200.08 £201.92
3 bedrooms £253.85 £253.85 £253.85
4 bedrooms £300.00 £300.00 £300.00
5 bedrooms £358.85 £357.69 £357.69

Between 8 - 10 working days before the end of a month, the Rent Officer will send us LHA rates for the following month. When we receive them, we will publish the new rates here.

The Rent Officer will routinely provide rates for property sizes of up to 5 bedrooms. If we receive a claim from someone who needs a larger property, we will ask the Rent Officer to give us the rate for somewhere of a suitable size.

If you need more than a 5-bedroom property (see 'Working out the Local Housing Allowance') you can ask us, before you move in, to obtain the appropriate rate from the Rent Officer. In this way, you can find out in advance the figure on which we will base your HB.

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