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Home << Living in West Oxfordshire << Benefits << About housing benefits << Applying after April 7th, 2008 << Applying for local housing allowance

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Applying for local housing allowance

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) could be awarded to people who need help with payment of their rent.

You can use our benefit calculator to see if you could qualify and get an estimate of how much you could be awarded.

You can apply for LHA by

using the application form in the downloads section, or
requesting one from our offices.
You will also need to complete a payment into bank account form before you are able to receive payments.

You will need to send certain evidence with your application. A list of what will be accepted and how you can submit it is available on the Evidence you will need to send page.

When your application is processed

You will receive a notification letter when your application has been processed to explain the decision.

Payment of LHA

One of the key differences between LHA and Housing Benefit applications is the way your entitlement is paid.

With Housing Benefit, your entitlement can be paid straight to your landlord. LHA does away with this rule and pays your entitlement straight into your bank account.

You will need to complete a form giving us your bank account details when you fill in your benefit application. This form is available from our downloads section or can be completed online.

There are some circumstances where we may be able to pay LHA straight to your landlord. These can be viewed in our safeguard policy.

If the amount awarded doesn't match your rent amount

LHA is not directly based on the amount of rent you pay. Instead it is based on the number of bedrooms required and the average rent for a similar property in your area.

If you receive less than the amount of your rent you will need to make up the difference.
If the amount you qualify for is more than the amount you pay for rent, you will be able to keep up to £15 of the additional weekly amount to spend as you please.

If you don't agree with the decision

Within a month of receiving notification of the decision you can contact us to ask us to relook at your application. All the details of what you can do if you disagree are found in our If you don't agree with a decision section.