Housing benefit calculator

Calculate how many bedrooms you are entitled to under the current housing benefit system, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and find out what your LHA rate is. Your housing benefit will be based on this number of bedrooms, not on the size of the property you live in.

Local Housing Allowance rates are used to calculate housing benefit for tenants renting from private landlords, the rates depend on the area you are making your claim in.

From April 2012 LHA rates will be updated annually instead of monthly. This means they will remain the same for the whole year between April 2012 and March 2013.

Calculate how many bedrooms you are eligible for

Enter the details of all the people living in your household and select 'Calculate'. Required information is marked with an asterisk (*).

Checking your LHA rates

To check the LHA rates you need:

• Details of how many people live in your household, including family members, non-dependants, boarders and sub-tenants
• To know whether you are entitled to an additional bedroom for someone not living with you, but who provides necessary overnight care for you or your partner
• The postcode of the property you rent or want to rent, or the local authority where it’s situated
• If you’re not sure who belongs to your household for housing benefit purposes, contact the housing benefit department at the local authority.
• Calculate bedrooms and find LHA rates
• Calculate your bedroom entitlement under Local Housing Allowance or find your LHA rate.

When you don’t need to use the bedroom calculator

For couples and single people claiming under certain circumstances the number of bedrooms you are entitled to is fixed.

When using ‘Find Local Housing Allowance rates’ choose the ‘Shared accommodation’ rate if one or more of the below applies:

• you are one of a couple, don’t live with dependants and rent a room in a shared home
• you are 34 years or younger and live alone (there are exemptions for severely disabled people, care leavers under 22 years of age or those with a bedroom used by care workers providing overnight care)
• you are 35 years or over and rent a room for your sole use in a shared home
• Choose the '1 bedroom' rate if you are 35 years or over and rent a self-contained property (e.g. a whole flat or house).

Local Housing Allowance is not suitable for everyone

If you are in one of the following groups, please contact your local council for advice:

• a tenant claiming for a mooring or the letting of a house boat / other vessel used as a dwelling
• a tenant claiming for a caravan site rent or the letting of a caravan / mobile home
• a tenant whose rent includes a substantial amount for board and attendance
• someone living in a hostel
• a Rent Act protected tenant