Finefair Ltd has always made a point to provide its clients with reliable information. We examine a multitude of topics. These include council leasing, property management, guaranteed rent, and LHA. Your situation might demand information about local housing allowance in Greenwich. If so, please keep reading for some details about what it is and what it means for you.
LHA and how it works
It was in 2008 when the UK Government introduced local housing allowance. LHA offers a way to calculate Housing Benefit entitlement. This is for those tenants renting private sector accommodation in Wales, Scotland, or England. It is harder to do it because the council isn’t setting the rent rates.
Those changes made to move to LHA led to a major adaptation in how councils can pay housing benefits. It also meant changes for restrictions. Most notably, there was the change that based entitlement on the 30th percentile of rental accommodation within the local community. In the past, the council would use the 50th percentile or median.
The purpose of local housing allowance is to use private market rental rates to see what people in the area are paying. This is what we call a BRMA. The intent here is to see to it that tenants in a community with similar buildings can claim similar quantities of money. So for example, anyone with a two bedroom property would get the same amount.
Local Housing Allowance in Greenwich
As we said, the LHA rates depend on the area. As a result, it is necessary to look locally for more information about housing benefits. The best way to do this is by visiting the VOA website.
Within Greenwich, there are some important things to take note of about LHA. We want to help by discussing some of the details here, so read on for more info.
What you receive
If someone rents from a private landlord, the LHA is a maximum figure that determines the Housing Benefit. You may not gain the full amount. The quantity of weekly LHA you receive will depend on the amount of income and savings you have. You could see further reductions to your benefit if there are other adults living with you. Plus, there will be a reduction for empty bedrooms.
The local housing allowance will get paid for a year following its calculation. This is unless a review occurs. For those under the age of 35, you will only qualify for the LHA rate for shared accommodation. We always recommend tenants and landlords look at local housing allowance in Greenwich to ensure they understand what it means for them.
Reviews
As we said above, a review may occur while you receive LHA. One can be triggered by several events. These include a change of address and a death in the household. Another event would be a change in circumstances. This is one that influences the amount of bedrooms you need. To give an example, there might be a child sharing a bedroom that gets to the age of 16. Or someone could leave or join the household.
When there is no change to your circumstances, the authority will automatically recalculate the LHA claim. This will occur after one year of payment. It will be based on the current LHA rate that’s in effect. The figures change every April.
It is also important to know about extra LHA room allowance for overnight carers. Within specific limited cases, the Royal Borough of Greenwich could include an additional room in the LHA. They can do so when either the individual claiming benefit or their partner needs personal care at night. Furthermore, they can do it if the claimant has a spare bedroom to accommodate carers that usually live somewhere else.
We’ll help you with all your needs
The team at Finefair Ltd does everything it can to offer clients the most extensive list of services. As you can see, we are even able to help with local housing allowance in Greenwich. Our people can look at this as well as offering support with guaranteed rent, asset purchases, and more. In the end, we hope to give you the services you need at considerable value.
To learn more about anything we do, get in touch with us.
