Local Housing Allowance In General Needs Social Housing

From 1 April 2018, the way Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit is calculated will change for tenants in general needs social housing. If a claimant has signed a new or renewed tenancy from 1 April 2016 the amount of benefit will be restricted to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) level for that size of household. This restriction will apply to people over pension age. If the tenant is single and under 35 years old the benefit eligible rent and service charge will be capped to a shared accommodation rate (SAR) unless an exemption applies. The DWP has not yet published regulations governing this measure and details maybe subject to change but housing associations and tenants should start preparing now to deal with the possible impact of the policy. Read more on the NHF website.