I'm a retired nurse and just had a £200-a-month rent 引き上げ（る）, but no rise in 住宅 利益: STEVE WEBB replies

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Help needed 支払う／賃金ing 法案s: I'm a retired nurse and just had a big rent 引き上げ（る） I can't afford

I am a retired 登録（する）d nurse. I 現在／一般に receive £1,341.78 a month from two work 年金s and my 明言する／公表する 年金.

I am renting 個人として and my rent has been 増加するd from £500 to £695 because my landlady says her mortgage 率 has gone up.

After my 法案s have been taken out of my account I am left with just over £100 a week. I have 適用するd for an 増加する in my 現在の 住宅 利益 (£45 a week) but have been advised that I am receiving the 最大限 量 I can get.

Is there any way of receiving any other monies to 支払う／賃金 my living costs. I 運動 to keep myself 独立した・無所属 and 維持費s/石油 of course is a 週刊誌 去っていく／社交的な.

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Steve Webb replies: The 増加する you have 直面するd in your 月毎の rent is 明確に very 相当な and I can understand why this has put a squeeze on your 財政／金融s.

I will try to explain why your 住宅 利益 did not すぐに 増加する when your rent went up. But I will also 株 what I hope is a 微光 of good news based on a little-noticed 告示 in the 最近の Autumn 声明.

As a 私的な renter, your 住宅 利益 is not based on your actual rent. Instead it is based on something called your ‘地元の 住宅 allowance’.

In 2012/13, the LHA was 始める，決める to match or 越える the rent level of the cheapest 30 per cent of rented 所有物／資産／財産s in your area.

Since then, LHA 率s have been squeezed, then re-始める，決める at the 30 per cent threshold during the pandemic before 存在 frozen since then.

The political justification given for 課すing the 30 per cent threshold is that people on 利益 should not be able to choose the nicest 所有物／資産／財産s in an area and get their rent covered in 十分な by the taxpayer.

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Instead, the taxpayer will only 支払う／賃金 up to the rent on a 比較して modest 所有物／資産／財産, 関わりなく your actual rent.

Because LHA 率s are only changed once a year (if at all), and because it is the LHA 率 which 決定するs how much 利益 you can get, this is why your 住宅 利益 did not 増加する as soon as your rent went up.

There is another important 尊敬（する）・点 in which the LHA 率 may not 反映する your actual rent. The LHA 率 to which you are する権利を与えるd is based on the size of 所有物／資産／財産 that you are みなすd to ‘need’ rather than the size of 所有物／資産／財産 that you have chosen to live in.

For example, although I don’t know for sure, from your question I’m guessing that you may live alone.

If so, you would typically only be する権利を与えるd to the LHA 率 for a one-bedroom 所有物／資産／財産, even if you are 現実に living in something larger.

This 支配する can lead to a 重要な 不足（高） between the rent that you are 支払う／賃金ing and the 量 covered by 利益 in some 事例／患者s.

Where people are really struggling and perhaps have some particular or exceptional need, they can 適用する to their 地元の 当局 for what are called ‘discretionary 住宅 支払い（額）s’.

Although these are designed to be an exceptional and 一時的な 最高の，を越す-up to 住宅 利益 they can be useful and you could consider 適用するing if the 最新の rent 増加する has 原因（となる）d you particular hardship.

However, the 微光 of good news is that the 政府 has finally 受託するd that the long-称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語 凍結する on LHA 率s has gone on long enough, 特に given the continued rise in rent levels.

It was 発表するd in the Autumn 声明 in November last year that LHA 率s will be re-始める，決める so that they once again cover the 底（に届く） 30 per cent of rent levels in each 地元の area.

The 政府 says that this 手段 will 利益 around 1.6million 世帯s, with an 普通の／平均（する） 伸び（る） of £785 per year from April 2024.

The exact 衝撃 on you will depend on what has been happening to rent levels in your 地元の area since the 凍結する on LHA ネズミ es began and on the size of the 所有物／資産／財産 you are みなすd to need.

In 事例／患者 it is of 利益／興味 you can use this 政府 website to find out the LHA 率 for the 現在の year (2023/24): Search for 地元の 住宅 Allowance 率s by postcode or 地元の 当局.

If you enter your postcode this will tell you what ‘幅の広い 賃貸しの market area’ you come under and then you can find out the 現在の 最大限 LHA for a 所有物／資産／財産 with the number of bedrooms you are みなすd to need.

Once you know which area you come under, you can then look at the 推定する／予想するd 率s of LHA for 2024/25 here: Indicative 地元の 住宅 Allowance 率s for 2024 to 2025.

Hopefully you should see a 重要な 増加する.

Remember however that the LHA 人物／姿／数字 is 簡単に the starting point for the 計算／見積り of your 利益.

As you know, you 現在／一般に receive only 部分的な／不平等な help because your income is above 年金 credit levels and a 類似の 次第に減少するing of help will 適用する next year, albeit based on a higher LHA 人物／姿／数字.

I hope that this change in LHA 率s, coupled with the 年次の 増加する to 明言する／公表する 年金s and your 私的な 年金s, will mean that your 財政上の 状況／情勢 緩和するs わずかに from April onwards.