Private tenants who change address
For some private tenants who change address, we will work out their claims for Housing Benefit under a new system
known as Local Housing Allowance (LHA).
Local Housing Allowance will not apply to you if:
• you pay rent to the council or to a registered social landlord;
• your rent is registered as a fair rent;
• you have a tenancy that is not included in the current Housing Benefit rent restrictions (such as tenancies
that began before 1989);
• the Valuation Office has decided that a large part of the rent you pay includes board and meals (such as
hotel accommodation); or
• you live in a caravan, mobile home, hostel or houseboat.
If you do not know whether Local Housing Allowance applies to you, please call us on 020 8356 3399 for advice.
Under this new scheme, you will receive a standard amount of Local Housing Allowance based on the size of your
household and the area you live in. We will publish these allowances beforehand so that you can find out how much
you could receive before you rent a property.
We normally pay Housing Benefit straight into your bank or building society account. If you think that having your
Local Housing Allowance paid into your bank or building society account will cause you serious problems, we may
be able to pay your LHA to your landlord. We will need to decide if you are having, or are likely to have, problems
managing your money and paying your rent. Please contact our benefit call centre on 020 83563399 for more
information and advice, and ask for a ‘Payment direct to landlord form’
Part 1 About you and your partner
Do you have a partner who
No
normally lives with you?
Yes
If you have a partner you must answer all the questions about them.
You
Your partner
Last name or family name
Other names
Title (Mr, Mrs, Ms and so on)
Your old address with postcode
Date of birth
/
/
/
/
Letter Letters Numbers
Letter
Letters Numbers
National Insurance number
You can find this on your payslips or
letters from social security or the tax
office. We cannot normally decide
your claim if we do not have your
National Insurance number.
Your daytime phone number
You do not have to tell us this,
but it may help us to deal with
your claim more quickly.
Email address