Local Housing Allowance shortfall: what to do when your benefit does not cover your rent

Rent privately with housing support through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit? The amount you get may not cover your full rent. The gap between what you get and what you owe is a shortfall. Here is why shortfalls happen and what to do.

What is Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the system that works out how much housing support a private tenant in England can get. It rests on:

• Your area, called a Broad Rental Market Area or BRMA
• The household size you are assessed as needing, based on who lives with you

The LHA rate is pegged to the lowest 30% of rents in your area. That is a government rule, not a figure that tracks what homes actually cost.

Why does a shortfall happen?

A shortfall happens when your real rent runs higher than your LHA rate. That can happen because:

• Rents in your area rose faster than the LHA rate
• The rate for your bedroom category sits below most local rents
• You are single and under 35, so you only get the shared accommodation rate, even living alone
• Your home is bigger than the calculation covers, say a spare room the rules do not count

What can I do about a shortfall?

Apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment

A Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) is extra money your council can pay towards a rent shortfall. It is not automatic: you apply, and you explain why you need it.

DHPs come from a limited pot. Councils favour people at risk of losing their home, people with a disability, and people facing real hardship without it. A DHP usually runs for a set time; it is not a permanent fix.

Ask for a benefit review

Think your LHA rate is wrong, say the wrong bedroom category? Ask the council or the DWP to review it. You may also challenge a decision if your circumstances have changed.

Negotiate with your landlord

Some landlords will consider a lower rent where the gap is small, especially for a reliable tenant they want to keep. Worth asking, though no landlord has to agree.

Check whether you are being housed in the right size property

Council or housing association tenant with more bedrooms than the rules allow? The under-occupation charge, often called the bedroom tax, may apply. Moving to a smaller home can end the shortfall. Ask your landlord about a mutual exchange or a transfer.

Does the shortfall affect my housing disrepair claim?

A shortfall does not directly touch a disrepair claim. But where the disrepair caused extra costs, higher energy bills from poor insulation, or damaged belongings, those can go into the claim as special damages.

Struggling with rent because of a shortfall, with eviction threatened? Contact us, and the council's housing team, as soon as you can.

Where can I find my LHA rate?

LHA rates sit on the Valuation Office Agency website. Search your Broad Rental Market Area for the rates that apply to you.

When should I contact Support for Tenants?

If your private rented home is in disrepair, call us. We check whether you may have a disrepair claim and refer suitable matters to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor. Get separate benefits or debt advice about any rent shortfall.

Call us on 0800 030 4669. No upfront cost. You only pay if you win, and the fee comes out of the compensation, not your pocket. If you don't win, you pay nothing.

Sources

• Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Housing Benefit (GOV.UK)