Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is used to work out the maximum Housing Benefit or Universal Credit housing costs for private tenants.
How much you are entitled to is based on the following:
The number of bedrooms you are entitled to
You are allowed one bedroom for:
- An adult couple
- Any other adult aged 16 or over
- Any two children of the same sex up to the age of 16
- Any two children regardless of sex up to age of 10
- Any other child.
You are allowed one additional bedroom for:
- A child - who is unable to share a bedroom due to their disabilities
- A claimant or their partner - who is unable to share a bedroom due to their disabilities
- An overnight carer – if you and/or your partner are disabled and require overnight care
- An overnight carer – for a child or a non-dependant who require overnight care.
Please note that to be awarded one additional bedroom there are further qualifying criteria to be met. For more information on the qualifying criteria and evidence required please email benefits@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
If you are subject to certain LHA restrictions
If you live on your own and you are under 35 your LHA rate entitlement will be restricted to the one bedroom shared room rate unless:
- You are entitled to a severe disability premium
- You receive the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance
- You receive the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independent Payment
- You are under 25 and have been in care
- You have spent at least three months in a hostel for homeless people.
If you are claiming Housing Benefit and you live in shared accommodation where you are renting a room in a shared property and you share some or all of the facilities in that property with someone other than your partner then the one bedroom shared room rate will always apply even if you are 35 or older.
However, if you are 35 or over claiming Universal Credit and are living in shared accommodation you will be entitled to the one bedroom LHA rate. More information on Universal Credit webpage
If you are a care leaver or have spent time in a homeless hostel
If you under 25 and a care leaver your LHA rate will not be restricted to the one bedroom shared room rate. Instead, you will be entitled to the higher one bedroom rate.
A care leaver is a person who has been in Local Authority care (e.g. residential or foster care) for a period of 13 weeks or more, or different periods adding up to 13 weeks or more, since they were 14 years old, and ending after they were 16 years old.
If you are under 35 and have spent at least three months in a homeless hostel you will not be restricted to the one bedroom shared room rate. Instead, you will be entitled to the higher one bedroom rate.
A homeless hostel is somewhere a homeless person is provided with accommodation as well as care, support or supervision with a view to assisting that person to be rehabilitated or resettled into the community. The minimal three months residency period does not have to be continuous. It can be made up of more than one period and be in more than one hostel.
The Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) your property falls under
The Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) is defined as an area “within which a person could reasonably be expected to live having regard to facilities and services for the purpose of health, education, recreation, personal banking and shopping”.
Your BRMA is not necessarily the same area as the council you pay your council tax to and often people can live in a council area but fall under a different BRMA.
It is really important to check the BRMA of your property, particularly if you live in a G65, G33 or G81 postcode as your LHA rate may be different to East Dunbartonshire’s rates shown on this page.
If your property is not within the East Dunbartonshire BRMA you will have to check the LHA rates for whichever BRMA your property does fall within.
To see what BRMA your property falls under please use the LHA Postcode Checker
East Dunbartonshire's LHA Rates for April 2024 - March 2025
If you live in a G65, G33 or G81 postcode please use the LHA Postcode Checker to see which LHA rates apply to you. For more information on this see the BRMA drop down above.
Local Housing Allowance
| Rooms | Weekly LHA Rate | Monthly LHA Rate |
|---|---|---|
|
1 Bedroom, with any other shared room(s) |
£97.81 |
£423.84 |
|
1 Bedroom |
£126.58 |
£548.51 |
|
2 Bedrooms |
£172.60 |
£747.93 |
|
3 Bedroom |
£230.14 |
£997.27 |
|
4 Bedroom |
£322.19 |
£1,396.16 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Started in East Dunbartonshire in April 2008, the LHA scheme did not replace the existing Housing Benefit scheme.
However, private tenants making their first claim for Housing Benefit after 7 April 2008 have their entitlement calculated using the terms and conditions of the LHA scheme.
Private tenants already in receipt of Housing Benefit before 7 April 2008 will not transfer to the LHA scheme unless:
- They move to a new address and still rent from a private landlord (even if they do not change landlords)
- They make a new claim for Housing Benefit after having no entitlement to benefit for one week or more.
Not all tenants are affected by the changes. Those not affected are:
- Council tenants
- Housing association tenants
- Private tenants with a tenancy start date before 2 January 1989
- People who live in a caravan, mobile home, hostel or houseboat
- Tenants with landlords that provide care, support or supervision
- Tenants that have a rent which is mainly for board and attendance, for example hotel accommodation.
The LHA scheme differs from the existing Housing Benefit scheme in two main ways:
- local authorities will not usually need to refer the amount of rent that a tenant pays to the Rent Service to determine the rental amount to be used in the calculation of a tenant’s entitlement to benefit - an LHA rate will be used
- Under the terms of LHA, most tenants will no longer be able to choose to have their benefit paid to their landlords. However, in certain circumstances payments can be made direct to landlords where the local authority considers the claimant to be likely to have difficulty managing their affairs (please refer to our Vulnerable Claimants Policy).
The amount of LHA that a tenant will receive depends on:
- The area they live in
- The LHA rates for that area
- The LHA rate that they are entitled to
- The personal and financial circumstances of the tenant and the people that live with them.