Size criteria

• Working out your accommodation requirements
• What else might affect your Local Housing Allowance (LHA)?
• Couples without dependant children
• Over 35s who live alone
• Joint tenants

Working out your accommodation requirements

The number of people who live with the claimant as members of their family determines how many bedrooms they need (up to a maximum of four bedrooms) and the size of the accommodation they will qualify for under the LHA rules. We do not count other rooms such as living rooms, kitchens or toilets.

The following information can be used as a guide to work out how many bedrooms a claimant will qualify for.

Claimants will qualify for one bedroom (up to a maximum of four) for:

• Every adult couple (married or unmarried or in a civil partnership)
• Any other adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children under age 10
• Any two children of the same sex aged under 16
• Any other child.

An extra room may also apply if the claimant, the claimant's partner (or both of them) have a carer who stays overnight (subject to specific criteria and only up to a maximum of four rooms).

The number of bedrooms a claimant qualifies for is used to decide which LHA rate will apply to them.

Example 1:

Claimant lives in a 2 bedroom property. The claimant qualifies for a 2 bedroom rate under LHA rules, Housing Benefit will be calculated using the 2 bedroom rate for the area they live in.

Example 2:

Claimant lives in a 3 bedroom property but qualifies for a 2 bedroom rate, they will receive Housing Benefit calculated using the 2 bedroom LHA rate for that area.

Example 3:

Claimant lives in a 1 bedroom property but qualifies for a 2 bedroom rate. They will receive Housing Benefit calculated using the 2 bedroom rate for that area.

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What else might affect your LHA?

A claimant may not get the bedroom based rate of LHA if they share some or all of the facilities in the property they rent. A shared accommodation rate applies to claimants who have their own bedroom but share other parts of their home with other tenants.

Most single people aged under 35 will only qualify for a shared accommodation rate regardless of the type of accommodation they live in.

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Couples without dependent children

If a claimant is part of a couple who have no children living with them and they choose to live in a property where all or some of the facilities are shared, they will get a shared accommodation rate.

If a claimant is part of a couple who have no children living with them and they live in self contained accommodation - they will qualify for a one bedroom rate.

A self-contained property means one where you have at least one room nobody else uses and a bathroom, toilet and cooking facilities that nobody else uses, for example, a one-bed flat.

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Over 35s who live alone

If a claimant is aged 35 or over and lives alone, they will get the rate for a one bedroom property as long as they are not sharing the accommodation.

If the same claimant lives in a property where all or some of the facilities are shared with other tenants - they will only get a shared accommodation rate.

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Joint tenants

If a claimant rents a property with other joint tenants, the Housing Benefit they receive will depend on the LHA rate that matches the size of their family.

Example 1:

3 joint tenants each of whom is single. A shared accommodation rate will apply to each of them (3 separate claims will be needed)

Example 2:

2 joint tenants, one of whom has a child living with them. A shared accommodation rate will apply to the single joint tenant. A 2 bedroom LHA rate will apply to the joint tenant with the child.