There are changes coming in April 2011 which will result in most Housing Benefit claimants suffering a reduction in their claim.
Currently, housing benefit is paid at a rate that is sufficient to rent 50% of properties in a specific area. From April 2011, it will only be sufficient to rent the cheapest 30%.
Here is an example. On 31st October 2010 we surveyed rental properties in 2 distinct areas - Sheffield S6 & London NW10. We took a representative sample of 20 rents as shown:
|
Sheffield S6 |
London NW10 | ||
|
2 beds |
|
1 bed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
£ 166.15 |
|
£ 495.00 |
|
|
£ 150.00 |
|
£ 285.00 |
|
|
£ 150.00 |
|
£ 260.00 |
|
|
£ 150.00 |
|
£ 250.00 |
|
|
£ 144.23 |
|
£ 250.00 |
|
|
£ 138.46 |
|
£ 210.00 |
|
|
£ 138.46 |
|
£ 196.00 |
|
|
£ 132.69 |
|
£ 196.00 |
|
|
£ 126.92 |
|
£ 185.00 |
|
|
£ 126.92 |
|
£ 180.00 |
|
|
£ 126.92 |
2010 LHA £126.92 |
£ 180.00 |
2010 LHA £180 |
|
£ 126.92 |
|
£ 180.00 |
|
|
£ 121.15 |
|
£ 173.00 |
|
|
£ 121.15 |
|
£ 175.00 |
|
|
£ 115.38 |
2011 LHA £115.38 |
£ 150.00 |
2011 LHA £150 |
|
£ 115.15 |
|
£ 150.00 |
|
|
£ 109.62 |
|
£ 135.00 |
|
|
£ 106.15 |
|
£ 105.00 |
|
|
£ 103.85 |
|
£ 105.00 |
|
|
£ 100.38 |
|
£ 100.00 |
|
Based on the sample, the current LHA for a 2 bed property in Sheffield S6 would be £126.92 per week - enough to rent any of the properties with a yellow background - the bottom 50% of the available properties.
However, come April 2011, that figure will be reduced to cover just those properties in bold on a yellow background - the bottom 30% giving an LHA of £115.38 - a drop of £11.54 or 9%.
Likewise in London NW10 our sample reveals a drop from £180 to £150 - a reduction of £30 or 16.6%.
This is a random sample on an arbitary day - if you live in S6 or NW10 your Housing Benefit is probably different to my figures and my sample does not indicate YOUR future LHA rates - but my example does illustrate how the calculations will be made, and they show that the reductions in LHA across the country will vary quite dramatically.