Understanding the Housing Element
The Housing Element of Universal Credit is designed to help you cover the cost of your rent. How much you receive depends heavily on whether you rent from a private landlord or a social landlord (council or housing association).
Private Renters and LHA
If you rent privately, your support is capped by the Local Housing Allowance (LHA). This is a limit based on the average rents in your specific geographic area for a home with the number of bedrooms you are entitled to. If your rent is £800 but the LHA for a 1-bedroom flat in your area is £650, you will have to pay the £150 difference yourself.
The Bedroom Tax (Social Housing)
If you live in social housing, there is no LHA cap. Instead, the DWP will generally pay your full rent. However, if you have more bedrooms than the DWP thinks you need, they will apply the "spare room subsidy" reduction:
- 14% reduction for 1 spare bedroom.
- 25% reduction for 2 or more spare bedrooms.