Warm welcome for LHA uplift

The Bevan Foundation has welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) from April 2024.

The Bevan Foundation has welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement in the autumn statement that Local Housing Allowance (LHA) will be restored to the 30th percentile of rents. 

LHA rates are used by the Department for Work and Pensions to calculate how much help with rent can be received by people claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit. There are different rates for different types of property and for different areas.  LHA has been frozen since 2020 despite rising rents.

The Bevan Foundation found that in many parts of Wales very few if any properties were offered at rents at or below LHA rates.  This makes it difficult for people to find a home they can afford and causing severe hardship when benefits or wages meant for food and heating costs have to be used to cover the shortfall in rent.  The Bevan Foundation’s findings prompted debates at Westminster and by a Senedd Committee, and brought together other housing organisations across the UK to call for a change,  

All places and all types of property have seen an increase in LHA.  Sometimes the increase is quite large – for example, in Cardiff LHA for a two-bedroom property has increased by £40.27 a week, while LHA for shared accommodation in Swansea is up by £23.80. 

Find out more about our work on LHA here.