The table below shows the maximum rate of Local Housing Allowance payable depending on your household's requirements. The number of bedrooms needed is determined by the size of your household and not by how many bedrooms there are in the property. There is one bedroom allowed for each of the following:

• Every adult couple
• Any other adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children (aged 16) of the same sex
• Any two children, regardless of sex, under the age of 10
• Any other child

You can find out the Local Housing Allowance rate for your area by clicking on the month below in which you would submit your claim for benefit:      

• July 2010
• August 2010

The Local Housing Allowance rate is only the starting point for working out your entitlement. The amount of Local Housing Allowance you receive will depend upon your household's income and savings, and any non-dependants living with you. The Local Housing Allowance rate may be higher or lower than the amount of rent you have to pay.

Single persons under 25 years will only be entitled to the shared room rate, regardless of the type of accommodation that they occupy.

Single people under 25 years who do not have a non-dependant living with them, will only be entitled to the shared Local Housing Allowance rate. However, this will be based on a more generous definition of the existing Single Room Rent, which limits Housing Benefit entitlement to the rate in shared accommodation. The new 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 or room suitable for living in.

A severely disabled person under 25 years and care leavers under 22 will be entitled to the Local Housing Allowance rate for a one bedroomed self-contained property provided they rent a property of at least that size. For those who qualify for a severe disability premium, they will qualify for the one room rate regardless of the size of the accommodation.

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.

** FROM 06.04.09 **
From 06.04.09, the Local Housing Allowance rates for six bedroom properties and above will be capped at the five bedroom rate for all new claims that are made. This means that if you have a household need for a six bedroom property, you will only be able to receive the Local Housing Allowance rate for a five bedroom property in your area. If on 06.04.09 you are already in receipt of Housing Benefit for a property that has six or more bedrooms based on the size of your family under the Local Housing Allowance scheme, you will not be affected by these changes until:

• You move address
• You have a change in your circumstances, e.g. a changes in the number of people who live in your home or a child reaching the age of 16 or a a boy and girl are sharing a room and one of them turns 11
• You have a break in your claim, e.g. if you start work and stop claiming Housing Benefit.
• You reach the renewal point of the claim when your Local Housing Allowance is re-assessed, e.g.  a claim is made to our offices on 07.10.08 for a six bedroom property based on the number of occupiers in the family. Housing Benefit is paid from 13.10.08. The anniversary date for this claim will fall on 07.10.09.  The claim will be reviewed on 07.10.09 and the claimant is protected for 26 weeks at the six bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate before it is re-assessed on 08.04.10 using the five bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate. If there was a change in their address, or a change in their circumstances or a break in the claim, e.g. a member of the household leaves the household or they start work, the claim would be reviewed using the five bedroom rate when this change was assessed

If your Local Housing Allowance rate is higher than the rent you are charged, you may be paid up to £15.00 per week more than your rent liability which you can keep. If your entitlement is lower than your actual rent, you will have to pay the difference yourself.