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Local Housing Allowance (LHA)

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is a way of calculating and paying Housing Benefit for people who rent from a private landlord. It uses a flat rate allowance based on the size of the tenant’s household and the area in which the property is rented to decide the maximum amount of Housing Benefit they will receive. Local Housing Allowance does not take account of how much rent you pay. The rate of LHA that tenants receive will be looked at each year.

Other circumstances, such as the money that the tenant has coming in or other people living in the household, will still affect the amount of benefit paid, so the tenant may not always receive the full rate of LHA.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions about Local Housing Allowance you can contact us. You can also find more detailed information about Local Housing Allowance on the GOV.UK website in the external links section.

Local Housing Allowance Rates

The following table shows the LHA rates for Carlisle City Council. The Rent Service will provide the Council with the LHA rates on an annual basis.  The rates are effective from the first day of the financial year.

Local Housing Rates

The rates below are effective from 1st April 2020.

Size criteria Weekly LHA Rates Monthly LHA Rates
1 Bed in a shared house £68.00 £295.48
1 Bed self-contained (bedsit or flat) £80.55 £350.01
2 bedrooms £97.81 £425.01
3 bedrooms £120.82 £524.99
4 bedrooms £155.34 £674.99

Local Housing- FAQ

What does the Local Housing Allowance scheme cover?

A bedroom is also allowed for a non resident carer who stays overnight on a regular basis to look after a person who requires care in their home and is in receipt of either Disability Living Allowance middle or higher rate or Attendance Allowance. A spare bedroom must be available to qualify for the additional rate.

From January 2012 the shared accommodation rate was extended to all single claimants under 35 years old. This means if you are single and under 35 years old and live in 1 bed room (self contained) or larger accommodation, your Housing Benefit will be no higher than the shared accommodation rate.

You should consider asking your landlord to reduce the rent. If you are unsuccessful, you may apply for Discretionary Housing Payments.

There are a limited number of exceptions to the "under 35" rule as follows:

  • You are aged under 22 and have been in care, or
  • You get the severe disability premium in your benefit because you are entitled to the middle or higher rate care component of the Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Need an extra bedroom for a carer who provides you with the overnight care you need but who doesn’t normally live with you, or
  • You have spent at least three months in a homeless hostel or hostel specialising in rehabilitating and resettling within the community (to benefit from this exemption you need to have been offered and accepted support services to enable you to be rehabilitated or resettled in the community,.are managed under active multi-agency management under the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements).
Online Calculator

Select the circumstances which best describe you (and your family, if any) from the list box below and hit the Calculate button.

None of the options above are relevant for me!

First ensure that None of these circumstances" is selected in the list box, and use the boxes below to describe the number of people in your slightly more complex household - no more than 9 members allowed in each category.

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