Working out your Local Housing Allowance if you're a couple

To determine your housing benefit, it's essential to understand the applicable Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate based on your living situation.

For couples without dependants, the LHA rate is influenced by your accommodation type:

• for a self-contained property, the one-bedroom LHA rate applies
• in shared accommodation with two or more private rooms that no-one else can use, the one-bedroom LHA rate applies
• in shared accommodation without private rooms, couples will be assessed based on the shared room LHA rate

By 'couple' we mean a man and a woman who are married or are living together as if they are married, or two people of the same sex who are civil partners of each other and are members of the same household.

By a self-contained property we mean one where you have your own room plus your own:

• bathroom
• toilet
• kitchen (or facilities to cook with)

Examples of entitlement

Some practical examples of couples and the rate they're entitled to are:

• Bill and Jane, a childless couple living in shared housing with communal facilities, will have their benefit based on the shared room LHA rate
• Gary and Roger, a couple residing in a self-contained flat, are eligible for the one-bedroom LHA rate

You also need to find out if you can get the full amount of benefit, which may be influenced by factors such as:

• income
• savings
• rent amount
• expected contributions from cohabitants
• rent-sharing with non-partners

Impact of Non-dependants

Your benefit may be reduced if you share your home with a non-dependant family member over eighteen, as it's assumed they will contribute towards rent.