Local housing allowance does not affect all housing benefit claimants. It applies to certain groups of private rented tenants, but not people renting from the Housing Executive or Housing Associations.

• Will I be affected by the changes?
• Who counts as a private tenant?
• Who is not assessed under LHA rules?

Will I be affected by the changes?

You will be affected by the new local housing allowance scheme if you are:

• a private tenant who makes a new claim on or after 7 April 2008
• already in receipt of housing benefit, but are moving to a different private rented address
• in receipt of housing benefit but have had a break in your claim.

If you are renting privately and already in receipt of housing benefit, you will keep on receiving it under the old rules until one of the above situations occur.

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Who counts as a private tenant?

You will be a private tenant if you rent a property or a room from a private landlord.

You will not be a private tenant if you rent your home from the Housing Executive or a Housing Association, or live in some types of supported accommodation.

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Who is not assessed under LHA rules?

Local housing allowance scheme will not apply to:

• Housing Executive tenants
• Housing Association tenants
• tenants of a Housing Association, registered charity or a voluntary organisation, which is providing care, support or supervision to their tenants
• protected tenancies
• rent-controlled tenancies
• tenancies of caravans, mobile homes, houseboats or hostels.

These types of tenants will continue to receive housing benefit, if they are entitled to it.

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