Local Housing Allowance

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Guide to

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Local Housing Allowance: an introduction

Local Housing Allowance is being introduced on 7 April 2008 and is a flat rate allowance based on the size of your household and the area in which you live. It is not based on the rent that your landlord is charging for your property. Your individual allowance will be the starting point for us to work out your Housing Benefit. There are no changes to entitlement rules - these are still based on your income and savings and proof of a valid tenancy. Local Housing Allowance will affect all tenants renting in the private sector who make a new claim for Housing Benefit on or after 7 April 2008. It will also affect tenants who move into privately rented accommodation or who have a break in their claim of a week or more on or after 07 April 2008.

Please note that if you live in council accommodation or other social housing, Local Housing Allowance will not affect you.

Working out your Local Housing Allowance

To work out how much benefit you might get, you need to:

1 Work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to and which Local Housing Allowance rate applies to you - this is shown below.

2 Check the Local Housing Allowance rates for the area you want to live in which you can get from us (our contact details are at the back of this leaflet) or you can log onto: www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/benefits. Alternatively you can log onto the Rent Service's website: www.therentservice.gov.uk

3 Find out if you can get the full amount of benefit. The amount of benefit you can get may be affected by:

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Any money you have coming in

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Any savings you have

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How much your rent is

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If we expect anyone living with you to pay towards your rent

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If you share paying the rent with someone else who is not your partner For more information about this, please get in touch with us (our contact details are at the back of this leaflet).

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How many bedrooms am I entitled to?

The number of people who live with you is used to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to. We do not count other rooms such as a living room, kitchen or bathroom.

The number of bedrooms you are entitled to is then used to work out which Local Housing Allowance rate usually applies to you. In some cases, there are some more rules (these rules are explained under "what else might affect the Local Housing Allowance rate?" over the page).

You can use the following information as a guide to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to.

You are entitled to one bedroom for:

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Every adult couple (married or unmarried)

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Any other adult aged 16 or over

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Any two children of the same sex aged under 16

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Any two children aged under 10

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Any other child.

Reena and Suki

Reena and Suki are a couple who have a child, Ben, who is nine years old.

They are entitled to one bedroom for themselves and one for Ben. This means any benefit they are entitled to will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate for two bedrooms.

Susan

Susan is a single mother who has three children, Tom, who is fourteen, Judy, who is eleven and Raymond, who is six.

Susan is entitled to one bedroom for herself, one bedroom for Judy and one bedroom for Tom and Raymond to share. This means any benefit they are entitled to will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate for three bedrooms.

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Lisa and Matt

Lisa and Matt are a couple who have five children, Shaun, who is seventeen, Graham, who is fifteen, Laura, who is twelve, Millie, who is nine and Jessica, who is six.

They are entitled to one bedroom for themselves, one bedroom for Shaun, one bedroom for Laura and Millie to share, one bedroom for Graham and one bedroom for Jessica. This means any benefit they are entitled to will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate for five bedrooms.

What else might affect the Local Housing Allowance rate?

There are extra rules if you are:

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Aged 25 or over, single and do not live with any dependants

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Aged under 25, single and do not live with any dependants

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A couple and do not live with any dependants

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You are a care leaver aged under 22

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You are severely disabled

Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you

are aged 25 or over

If you are 25 or over, single and do not live with any dependants, your benefit will be based on the one bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate if you live in:

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A self-contained property (by a self-contained property we mean one where

you have your own room plus your own: bathroom, toilet, and kitchen (or facilities to cook with). For example, this could be a one-bedroom flat.)

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Shared accommodation but you have two or more rooms (bedrooms or

living rooms) that no-one else can use.

If you are 25 or over, single and do not live with any dependants, and live in shared accommodation your benefit will be based on the Local Housing Allowance shared room rate.

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Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you

are under 25

If you are aged under 25, are single and do not live with any dependants, you can only get the Local Housing Allowance shared room rate. You can find out what the shared room rate is by ringing the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (see further information at the back of this leaflet) or log onto:

www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk/benefits

Alternatively you can look at the Rent Service website:

www.therentservice.gov.uk Marcus

Marcus is single. He is aged 23.

He is entitled to one bedroom for himself. As he is under 25, he is entitled to the Local Housing Allowance shared room rate.

Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you

are a couple

If you are part of a couple and do not live with any dependants, your benefit will be based on the one bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate if you live in:

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A self-contained property (by a self-contained property we mean one where you have your own room plus your own: bathroom, toilet, and kitchen (or facilities to cook with). For example, this could be a one-bedroom flat.)

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Shared accommodation but you have two or more rooms (bedrooms or living rooms) that no-one else can use.

If you are part of a couple and do not live with any dependants, your benefit will be based on the Local Housing Allowance shared room rate if you live in shared accommodation.

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By couple we mean a man and a woman who are married or are living together as if they are married, or two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household.

Bill and Jane

Bill and Jane are a couple who have no children. They live in a house where they share facilities.

They are entitled to one bedroom for themselves. As they share facilities, this means any benefit they are entitled to will be based on the Local Housing Allowance shared room rate.

Gary and Roger

Gary and Roger are a couple. They live in a self-contained flat.

They are entitled to one bedroom for themselves. This means any benefit they are entitled to will be based on the Local Housing Allowance rate for one bedroom.

Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you

are a care leaver under 22

If you are a care leaver under 22, or live with a care leaver under 22 who is your partner, and you have no dependent children; your benefit will be based on the one bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate.

By care leaver we mean someone who was in council care after the age of 15.

Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you

are severely disabled

If you are severely disabled, or live with a severely disabled partner, and have no dependent children, your benefit will be based on the one bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate.

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Local Housing Allowance: rights and responsibilities

Why is Local Housing Allowance better for me?

With Local Housing Allowance, you will know before you find somewhere to live, how much help you maybe able to get with your rent. By knowing how much you might get, it is easier for you to decide what type of property you can afford.

You can choose how to spend your benefit in a similar way to tenants who are not getting benefits. Like other tenants you will be able to choose whether to rent a larger property, or spend less on housing and increase how much money you have for other things. If you rent a cheaper property, the benefit that you can keep will not affect any other benefits that you get.

If you are looking for somewhere to rent you can choose to:

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Rent a property where the rent is the same as the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to.

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Pay more than the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to and rent a more expensive property using other money you have coming in.

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Pay less than the Local Housing Allowance rate you are entitled to and rent a less expensive home. In this case your Local Housing Allowance rate can be up to £15 more than your rent.

The following examples show how this works. These examples are for tenants who are entitled to the maximum amount of benefit.

Fred's Local Housing Allowance rate is £65 a week. His rent is £60 a week. Fred gets benefit of £65 a week and can keep £5 a week to spend on other things.

Helen's Local Housing Allowance rate is £80 a week. Her rent is £90 a week. Helen gets benefit of £80 a week and has to pay the extra £10 a week from other money she has coming in.

Tony's Local Housing Allowance rate is £100 a week. His rent is £80 a week. Tony gets benefit of £95 a week and can keep £15 a week to spend on other things.

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How do I get paid my benefit?

With Local Housing Allowance, benefit is paid to you and not to your landlord. It will be paid directly into your bank or building society account, if you have one, or by cheque.

If you do not have a bank or building society account already, you may want to set one up. That way you can arrange to pay the rent to your landlord

automatically. This is called a standing order.

Opening a bank/building society account

You can get advice about opening and running a bank account from any bank or building society. There is a leaflet available from the Council offices which will give you details of all the basic bank accounts available at the banks or building society's in Hinckley. There are many organisations that can give you advice about money, including opening a bank account when you have been refused before. At the back of this leaflet there are details of some useful contacts.

Paying your rent

As a tenant you are responsible for paying your rent to your landlord.

If you do not pay the rent your landlord may apply to the local authority to have it paid to them, or take other action to recover their money.

If you are in rent arrears your landlord may be able to go to the courts and ask that you be evicted from your home.

Eviction means that:

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You will lose your home.

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Your benefit may not be paid to you in the future.

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You may have difficulty finding new accommodation, as your landlord is unlikely to give you a reference.

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You will still have to pay the landlord the money you owe and possibly extra money to cover any court costs.

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An application for re-housing could be affected as you may be considered to have made yourself intentionally homeless.

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What can I do if I disagree with your decision?

If you disagree with a decision we have made in the assessment of your claim you can challenge our decision in a number of ways. You can:

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Ask us to explain the decision.

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Ask us to look at the decision again - this is known as a review.

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Submit an appeal in writing giving the reasons you disagree with the decision.

How do I ask for a review

You can ask us to review our decision about your claim for Housing Benefit including the Local Housing Allowance rate we have applied to you. Your request for a review must be in writing. You must include details of why you think our decision is wrong.

We must get your request for a review within one month of the date of the decision notification letter. If we do not get it within one month, we may not be able to look again at your claim.

You cannot ask for a review of the Local Housing Allowance rates for the area you want to live in.

Details of how to get in touch with us are at the end of this leaflet.

How do I ask for an appeal?

You can ask the Appeals Service to look at our decision. Your request for an appeal must be in writing. Details of how to appeal will be included in your notification letter. The Appeals Service must get your request for an appeal within one month of the date of the decision notification letter. If they do not get it within one month, they may not be able to look again at your claim.

If you have asked us to review our decision and have received a reply from us, you can ask the Appeals Service to look at our review decision. The Appeals Service must get your request for an appeal within one month of the date of the decision notification letter. If they do not get it within one month, they may not be able to look again at your claim.

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The Appeals Service may be able to consider an appeal outside this time limit if there are special circumstances. They cannot consider an appeal if it is made more than 13 months from the date of the original decision notification letter. To find out more about this, please contact the Appeals Service

(www.appeals-service.gov.uk).

How can make an appeal?

Someone who is affected by the decision may appeal, including:

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The person making the claim.

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Someone who is appointed by the courts to act on behalf of the person making the claim.

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Someone who the council agrees is appointed to act on behalf of the person making the claim.

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A landlord - but only about who benefit may be paid to.

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An agent - but only about who benefit may be paid to.

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Any person from whom an overpayment is to be recovered.

You may find it helpful to talk to a welfare rights organisation, such as Hinckley Citizens Advice Bureau. Their contact details are at the back of this leaflet.

Alternatively you can visit the Appeals Service website at: www.appeals-service.gov.uk

Local Housing Allowance: tenants who are likely to

have difficulty paying their rent

With Local Housing Allowance, benefit is usually paid to the tenant. Tenants cannot choose to have their benefit paid to their landlord. But in some circumstances we can decide to pay benefit to the landlord.

When may a local authority make payments to the landlord?

The local authority must usually pay the benefit to the landlord if the tenant is eight weeks or more in arrears with their rent.

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Payment may be made direct to the landlord where we decide that the tenant is:

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Likely to have difficulty in managing their financial affairs.

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Unlikely to pay their rent

We can also decide to pay benefit to the landlord if, during the current claim for benefit, we have had to pay the landlord because the tenant was eight weeks or more in arrears with their rent.

Who can ask for the payments to be made to the landlord?

Tenants, landlords, tenants' families or persons acting on the tenants' behalf, may tell the local authority that they are having difficulty paying their rent, or are likely to. The local authority may also identify tenants who may have difficulty managing their money, for example, when carrying out home visits. And landlords can contact the local authority, especially if the tenant is getting into arrears with their rent.

Who may have difficulty paying their rent?

There are many reasons why someone may have difficulty paying their rent. They might be someone who:

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Has severe debt problems

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Has a recent County Court judgement against them

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Is an un-discharged bankrupt

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Is unable to open a bank or building society account

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Has some of their Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance paid direct to the gas, electricity or water company by the Department for Work and Pensions

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Is getting Supporting People help

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Is getting help from a homeless charity.

Or someone may have difficulty paying their rent if they:

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Have learning difficulties

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Have an illness that stops them managing on a day-to-day basis

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Are addicted to drugs, alcohol or gambling

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Are fleeing domestic violence

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Are a care leaver

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Are leaving prison

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Are homeless.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Who decides if we may pay the landlord?

We (the Council) decide if we may pay the landlord.

We recommend that, if someone thinks a tenant may have difficulty managing their money, they encourage the tenant to contact us.

We must have evidence to show that they have difficulty managing their money and that it is in their interest that we pay the landlord directly. Evidence should usually be in writing. People who can provide evidence include:

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The tenant

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Friends and family of the tenant

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The landlord

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Welfare groups (including money advisers)

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Social Services

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Probation officers

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Jobcentre Plus

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The Pension Service

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Homeless charities/organisations

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Supporting People teams

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Local/council rent deposit scheme administrators, homelessness or housing advice officers.

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Making a decision

Once we have collected evidence we will decide as quickly as possible if direct payments to the landlord are appropriate. We will still pay benefit while we are making our decision.

We will write to the tenant and explain our decision. We will also write to the landlord.

Reviews and appeals

If the tenant or landlord disagrees with our decision they can ask us to look at the decision again. This is called a review. Or they can appeal against the decision, giving reasons why they think the decision is wrong. Please contact us if you want more information (see back page for our contact details).

Money advice

Tenants can get help managing their money from The Hinckley Citizens Advice

Bureau. Their contact details are:

Hinckley Citizens Advice Bureau

2nd Floor • Elizabeth House • St Mary's Road • Hinckley • Leicestershire • LE10 1EQ

Opening Hours:

Monday: 10am - 2pm Wednesday: 10am - 2pm Thursday: 10am - 2pm

Appointments are not necessary. You can also phone, write or e-mail them:

Telephone Advice Line: 0870 120 2401 (available 10am - 3pm Mon, Wed and

Thurs)

Money Advice Line: 0870 900 0939 Admin Telephone/Fax: 01455 615 632 E-mail: [email protected] Advice Website: www.adviceguide.org.uk

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Help with managing your money and debt

If you are concerned about managing your money or you have debts, try not to worry, but do not ignore your problem - it won't go away. If you cannot pay your rent because of money problems you may be evicted from your home. You must ask for help. There are many organisations that can give you advice about debt and money problems. The most local organisation is The Citizens Advice

Bureau in Hinckley (their details are listed on the previous page.) However if you

would prefer to contact a different organisation, please see the list below.

British Bankers' Association (BBA)

The BBA produce some useful leaflets on proving your identity and a range of banking services. For more information:

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Visit: www.bba.org.uk

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Phone: 020 7126 8800

Financial Services Authority (FSA)

The FSA provide a financial health check service. For more details visit http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/tools/financial-health-check.html.

This can help you work out your financial priorities and make decisions about your money.

The FSA also have a budget calculator to help you to think about your spending and to work out whether you have enough money coming in to cover your outgoings. For more details visit:

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Money Advice Scotland

Money Advice Scotland (MAS) was set up in 1989 to represent individuals and agencies involved in all areas of money advice (debt advice). They are the major organisation in Scotland promoting free, independent and impartial advice to those in financial difficulty. For more details:

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look on their website: www.moneyadvicescotland.org.uk

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email: [email protected]

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ring them on: 0141 5720237

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or write to them at: Money Advice Scotland

Suite 306 • Pentagon Centre • 36 Washington Street• Glasgow • G3 8AZ

Consumer Credit Counselling Service

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) provides free debt advice over the phone. Everything is free and confidential, from budgeting advice to

practical Debt Management Plans. This service is available to everyone in the UK For more details:

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look on their website: www.cccs.co.uk

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ring them on: 0800 1381111

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or write to them at:

Consumer Credit Counselling Service

Wade House • Merrion Centre • Leeds • LS2 8NG

National Debtline

This is a telephone-based service and is a national helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland. They will discuss debt problems with you and explain the options available to you. For more details:

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look on their website: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

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ring them on: 0808 808 4000

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or write to them at: National Debtline

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Payplan

Payplan provide free debt advice and management. For more details:

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look on their website: www.payplan.com

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ring them on: 0800 917 7823

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or write to them at: Payplan Ltd

Kempton House • Dysart Road • Grantham • NG31 7LE

Insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

This is a not-for-profit debt advisory service for debt advice and debt management. For more details:

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look on their website: www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

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ring them on: 0800 0746918

Credit Action

Credit Action provides information and guidance for people with debt or money worries. For more details:

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look on their website: www.creditaction.com

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ring them on: 0207 436 9937

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or write to them at: Credit Action

Howard House • The Point • Weaver Road • Lincoln • LN6 3QN

If you are struggling to live on the money you have or are experiencing problems with debt, you may want to think about whether you are getting all the benefits or tax credits that you are entitled to.

For more information and advice you can visit the central government money advice section on the internet at www.direct.gov.uk. This also has a wide range of public service information and links to other organisations which you may find useful if you are looking for help or advice.

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Other Advice Agencies

Age Concern

Age Concern provides information on income and benefits for older people. For more details:

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look on their website: www.ace.org.uk

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ring them on: 0800 00 99 66

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or write to them at: Age Concern England

Astral House • 1268 London Road • London • SW16 4ER

Advice UK

Advice UK is a registered charity and is the UK's largest support network for free, independent advice centres. For more details:

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look on their website: www.adviceuk.org.uk

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ring them on: 020 74074070

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Head Office •12th Floor • New London Bridge House • 25 London Bridge Street London • SE1 9SG

The Rent Service

The Rent Service is a government agency providing a rental valuation service to local authorities in England, supplying them with a range of valuations to assist them in settling claims for Housing Benefit. This role also includes the provision of Local Housing Allowance amounts to local authorities. For more details:

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look on their website: www.therentservice.gov.uk

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ring them on: 08450 264696

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Further information

If you want more information:

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Phone your Housing Benefit department on: 01455 238141

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Visit your Housing Benefit department at: Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council Argents Mead

Hinckley Leicestershire LE10 1BZ

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Look on our website: www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk

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Email us: [email protected]

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Visit: www.direct.gov.uk

Remember that this leaflet is a guide only. It is not meant to say exactly what your legal rights are. While we have tried to make sure that the information in this leaflet is correct at the date shown on the cover, it is possible that there may be incorrect information or some ideas may be oversimplified. Also, please remember that the information in this leaflet is likely to become less accurate over time because of changes to the law.

Local Housing Allowance

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