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Private tenancies

If you rent from a private landlord we will use a Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate to work out your benefit.

Most private tenancies are worked out using Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

The LHA rates shown are the maximum you could get before we look at your income and circumstances.

The current LHA rates remain unchanged from April 2021.

April 2023 to March 2024 rates
Charge Shared room One bedroom Two bedroom Three bedroom Four bedroom
Monthly charge £281.66 £448.76 £598.34 £728.00 £897.52
Weekly charge £65 £103.56 £138.08 £168 £207.12

The government has announced that the LHA rates will be raised in April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This means that more people will be able to afford private rented accommodation in their area.

April 2024 to March 2025 rates
Charge Shared room One bedroom Two bedroom Three bedroom Four bedroom
Monthly charge £366.16 £503.62 £674.14 £837.72 £1,096.98
Weekly charge £84.50 £116.22 £155.34 £193.32 £253.15

What rate would apply to me?

LHA is based on the number of bedrooms your household needs, not the number of rooms in the property you rent, or the rent that you are charged.

One bedroom is allowed for:

  • Every adult couple
  • Any additional adult aged 16 or over
  • Any two children regardless of sex aged under age 10
  • Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
  • Any other child
  • A carer who normally lives elsewhere (we may write to you about this)

Some couples and single people will only be entitled to the shared accommodation rate, this is when:

  • You are one of a couple, don’t live with dependants and rent a room in a shared home
  • You are 34 years old or younger and live alone (there are exemptions for severely disabled people, care leavers under 25 years of age or those with a bedroom used by care workers providing overnight care)
  • You are 35 years or over and rent a room for your sole use in a shared home

A shared home is where you have sole use of a bedroom and have to share a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet or a room suitable for living in.

How LHA is paid

LHA is paid to you and will go straight into a bank or building society account.

It is up to you to make sure that your rent is paid to your landlord. If you think you may struggle with the responsibility of paying your rent, you can ask us to make payments direct to your landlord.

A request for direct payment can be made by you, your landlord or another interested party.

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