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Waste collections have been disrupted in recent weeks and we are sorry for the inconvenience. See the Somerset Waste Partnership website for service updates.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and information

Local housing allowance

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is used to work out how much housing benefit you can get if you rent your home from a private landlord.

Amount you get

The amount of LHA you get depends on the area where you live and the number of bedrooms you and your family need under the rules. It does not depend on how much rent you pay your landlord.

LHA rates are the most amount of money that could be paid to you in housing benefit. The amount you get will also depend on your income, savings and other circumstances.

Number of bedrooms

You can work out the number of bedrooms you would be entitled to under LHA from the information below or by using the link to the bedroom entitlement calculator.

One bedroom is set for each:

  • adult couple (married or unmarried)
  • other adult aged 16 or over
  • two children under the age of 10 whether boy or girl
  • two children aged under 16 of the same gender
  • any other child

We may also be able to allow an extra bedroom if you:

  • have a child who has a serious disability and can't share a bedroom because of this
  • are an approved foster carer and you've fostered in the last 12 months

The most bedrooms you can have for LHA is four.

Single people under the age of 35 will normally only qualify for the shared room rate.

Property area

To find out which area your property falls into please go to the LHA direct postcode search.