How Your LHA Is Worked Out

To work out how much housing benefit you might get you need to

• Work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to and which Local Housing Allowance rate applies to you
• Check the Local Housing Allowance rates for the area you want to live in
• Find out if you can get the full amount of benefit

The amount of benefit you can get may be affected by

• Any money you have coming in
• Any savings you have
• How much your rent is
• If we expect anyone living with you to pay towards your rent
• If you share paying the rent with someone else who is not your partner

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 are shown below.

You can use the following information as a guide to work out how many bedrooms you are entitled to.  Alternatively, you can use this bedroom calculator on the LHA-Direct website.

You are entitled to one bedroom each for

• Every adult couple (married or unmarried)
• Any other adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• Any two children aged under ten
• Any other child

Example 1 - 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.

Example 2 - Susan

Susan is a single mother who has three children, Tom, who is 14, Judy, who is 11 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.

Example 3 - Lisa and Matt

Lisa and Matt are a couple who have five children, Shaun, who is 17, Graham, who is 15, Laura, who is 12, 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

• Aged 25 or over, single and do not live with any dependants
• Aged under 25, single and do not live with any dependants
• A couple and do not live with any dependants
• You are a care leaver aged under 22
• You are severely disabled

If you are a joint tenant this may affect the benefit you can get. For more information about joint tenants, please see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Non-dependants

If you claim benefit you can only get it for yourself and your family. If you share a property with someone who is not part of your family, your benefit may be reduced. This is because we may expect them to pay towards your rent.

Contact us

By telephone

020 7525 1880 - housing and council tax benefit
020 7525 1850 - council tax

By post

Council Tax Section
London Borough Of Southwark
P.O. Box 782
Bromley
BR1 3YE

Please indicate which department your query is for.

In person

Bermondsey One Stop Shop
Spa Road
Bermondsey
SE16 3QN

Peckham One Stop Shop
Ground Floor
Peckham Library
122 Peckham Hill Street
SE15 5JR

Walworth One Stop Shop
151 Walworth Road
London
SE17 1RY

Dulwich Area Housing Office
41-43 East Dulwich Road
Dulwich
SE22 9BY

All one stop shops are open from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. In addition, Peckham one stop shop is open on Saturday, 9am to 1pm.

By email

Housing/council tax benefit: souhousingbenefitsuk@liberata.com
Council tax: Soucounciltaxuk@Liberata.com