West Oxfordshire District Council

Full graphics version | Skip navigation | A-Z | Site map | Help | Accessibility | Contact us | Search

Page navigation

Site directory

Publications listings
List our publications

What's the difference between housing benefit and local housing allowance?

The main difference between the two types of Benefit is the way the way the rent is taken into account.

With housing benefit, details of the property and the amount paid  in rent are sent to the Rent Service. They then make a decision as to what rent the property should be attracting. This value is then used to calculate the benefit entitlement instead of the amount actually being paid.

For Local Housing Allowance, the rent service calculates standard rental values according to the rental market average for different size properties within your area.

Did this answer your question? Let us know using our comment on a question form.

You can click on the question below to view the answer.

• What is housing benefit?
• What's the difference between housing benefit and Local housing allowance?
• How do I know if my tenant is receiving Housing benefit for Local Housing Allowance?
• My tenant is behind on their rent payments - can their rent be paid directly to me?
• I've received a notification letter but I don't understand it - what can I do?

Do it online

Go to My West Oxfordshire for all your local information or view all online services

Let us know about any problems with our website

File downloads

View all Publications and register for email alerts when they are updated.

Get Adobe Reader

Related pages

See also our related frequently asked questions

Other websites

We are not responsible for the content of external internet sites

Quick search

My West Oxfordshire

Find information about the area in which you live using My West Oxfordshire

Publication listings

Email alert

Last reviewed 29 October 2008

Top of page

Privacy statement | Disclaimer
Copyright © 2008 West Oxfordshire District Council