If you are renting a property or room from a private landlord, we use the local housing allowance to work out how much housing benefit you get.
The amount of housing benefit you get will depend on where you live and who lives with you.
Local housing allowance rates
Local housing allowance rates are set for different types of accommodation in each area by the Valuation Office Agency. This rate is based on the number of bedrooms in the property and the area or Broad Market Rental Area (BRMA) it is in. Properties in Aldershot and Farnborough come under the Blackwater Valley BRMA.
Local housing allowance rates are set every January, and change from 1 April each year. The actual amount you will be entitled to will depend on your income and savings. The rates that apply from April each year are set In mid January of that year.
Local housing allowance rates for 2024/25
| Number of Bedrooms | Weekly amount | Monthly amount |
|---|---|---|
| Shared room rate | £110.00 | £477.98 |
| 1 bedroom | £184.11 | £800.00 |
| 2 bedrooms | £230.14 | £1000.01 |
| 3 bedrooms | £298.03 | £1295.01 |
| 4 bedrooms | £391.23 | £1699.99 |
We normally pay benefit to the tenant, who will then pay the landlord.
In certain circumstances (if you go into rent arrears by eight weeks or more, or you may be considered vulnerable) your landlord can ask us to make payments direct to them instead of you. Our vulnerability policy explains how we decide this.
If we pay you direct, you will receive payment every two weeks.
Payment schedules for 2024/25
Please see our payment schedule for local housing allowance page to find out when you will receive this benefit into your bank account.
How we select the number of bedrooms for local housing allowance
We apply the shared room rate if you do not have exclusive use of more than one room and share any, or all, of a kitchen, a room suitable for living in, and a bathroom or a toilet. This category also applies to all claimants under 35. There are two exemptions to this rule:
- If you receive Severe Disability Premium
- or if you are a care leaver under the age of 22 and/or have spent at least 3 months in a homeless hostel
In these cases, you will be entitled to the one-bedroom rate.
The four-bedroom rate is the maximum amount of local housing allowance available. If you have more bedrooms than this, we will assess your claim using the four-bedroom local housing allowance rate.
Size criteria
We only include bedrooms when we calculate how many rooms a property has, as all tenants are entitled to a kitchen and a bathroom.
Bedrooms
The entitlements are one bedroom for every adult couple and every single adult over the age of 16.
A single child is also entitled to one bedroom. Any two children of the same sex aged under 16 and any two children aged under ten need to share a bedroom under the criteria.
You can calculate how many bedrooms you are entitled to using the bedroom calculator on the Valuation Office Agency website.
If you need further information please contact us using the contact details on this page.
Further information
Contact us