Local housing allowance rates
What will my local housing allowance rate be?
Single people under 35 years will only be entitled to the local housing allowance shared room rate, regardless of the type of accommodation they occupy.
The shared room rate will be based on properties where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and the tenancy states that the tenant must share the use of one or more of the following:
- Kitchen
- Bathroom
- Toilet
- Room suitable for living in
However, there are some exceptions:
- If you receive the severe disability premium, you would receive the one bedroom rate
- If you are a care leaver under 22 you would receive the one bedroom rate
- If you are 25 to 34 and have been in homeless hostel accommodation for three months or more and have received a support package to rehabilitate you back into the community, you would receive the one bedroom rate but only if you are living in a one bedroom self-contained property
- If you are an ex-offender aged 25 to 34 and are subject to multi agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA), you would only receive the one bedroom rate if you are living in a one bedroom self-contained property
- If you are a victim of domestic abuse you will receive the one bedroom rate
- If you are a victim of modern slavery you will receive the one bedroom rate
If you are a joint tenant you will qualify for a rate of local housing allowance based on your family unit, inclusive of any non-dependants or boarders. However, a single claimant, irrespective of age, sharing facilities will only qualify for the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance. These rates will be used to calculate how much benefit you are entitled to.
Tenants who have regular overnight care provided by someone who normally lives elsewhere may be entitled to an extra room in the housing benefit calculation. The tenant would need to be living in a property that has an extra room.
For example, if Mr Smith has a carer who provides overnight care, then he would need to be living in a two bedroomed property to be able to get an extra bedroom in the calculation of his housing benefit. If he lived in a one bedroom property, he would not get an extra room granted in the calculation of his housing benefit.
Last updated: 18/03/2024 08:14
