Local housing allowance : guide for tenants

If you live in council accommodation or other social housing, Local Housing Allowance will not affect you.

With Local Housing Allowance, your benefit is not usually based on the property you live in. It is usually based on:

• who lives with you
• which area you live in
• how much money you have coming in
• how much savings you have

In some cases the amount of benefit you are entitled to will be affected by other things. These can include:

• how much your rent is
• whether anyone living with you is expected to contribute to your rent

Further information

If you want more information on any matters within the leaflet or in the FAQs please contact the Housing Benefit service. The information on these pages is also available in a leaflet for you to print off and keep - see the PDF attachment in the download tab on this page.

You may find it helpful to talk to a welfare rights organisation, such as Citizens Advice. You can get their details from the phone book.

Remember that the leaflet and FAQs are only a guide. They are not meant to say exactly what your legal rights are. While we have tried to make sure that the information in the leaflet is correct at the date shown on the cover, it is possible that there may be incorrect information or some ideas may be oversimplified. Also, please remember that the information in the leaflet and FAQs are likely to become less accurate over time because of changes to the law.