Post on 19-Jun-2015
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Lettings Research working in partnership with Landlords
Local Housing Allowanceand the Rent Officer
Mike Joslin and Anne Mason Lettings Research Team (South West)
VOA Rent Officer Functions
• We continue to set LHA rates each month
• We still make determinations on pre-April 2008 Housing Benefit claims – every 52 weeks. This scheme carries on until a break in claim or move.
• We still register rents under the 1977 Rent Act
The role of Rent Officers in Local Housing Allowance:
• Ongoing review of the Broad Rental Market Areas (LHA) [BRMA]
• Collecting lettings information• Setting the Local Housing
Allowance [LHA]
Local Housing Allowance Timescales
• The new system was introduced for new claims from 7 April 2008
• Every month, Local Housing Allowance rates for each property size are published for over 150 BRMAs that cover England
• These figures are generated automatically from data collected by Rent Officers
The Local Housing Allowance
• Personal entitlement based on household size• Claimant can choose smaller or larger
accommodation according to price and ability to pay
• Basing the LHA on the middle of the range for a certain property size means that half of the rental properties of that size in the area will be affordable within the LHA amount that tenants receive.
The Local Housing Allowance
• LHA figures are published on the LHA-direct website so that people know the rates before signing a tenancy
• LHA figures are also published by each local authority
• The median figure is generated from 12 months of data using an automatic process
• It is a 12 month rolling database
lha-direct.voa.gov.uk
lha-direct.voa.gov.ukPlymouth 1 Bed LHA £98.08
BRMA ID
BRMA Name
1 Bed Shared
1 Bed Self Contained
2 Beds
3 Beds
4 Beds
5 Beds
Valid To Valid From
4 Plymouth £66.00 £98.08 £124.62 £144.23 £196.15 £288.46 30 Sep 2009
01 Sep 2009
Plymouth 1 Bedroom LHA
Plymouth 1 Bedroom data Range £56.54 to £196.15
£98.08
0
50
100
150
200
250
1 30 59 88 117 146 175 204 233 262 291 320 349 378 407 436 465 494 523 552 581 610 639 668 697 726 755 784
Data count
Ne
t re
nt
£ p
er
we
ek
So what is a Median LHA?
• The median rent is the figure halfway up the distribution of the List of Rents in the BRMA.
• In practice the average List of Rents contains in excess of 200 items of data
• £175.00• £185.00• £185.00• £190.00• £195.00• £195.00• £200.00• £200.00• £200.00• £200.00• £205.00• £205.00• £210.00
The Current Situation
• Changes from 6th April 2009 are:– LHA levels for 6 bedrooms or more will be
capped at the 5 bedroom rate for all new claims.
– Existing claims will continue until the anniversary of the claim. Transitional protection then applies for up to 13 weeks
– If change of address for large household, the 5 bedroom rate will become applicable
Lettings Research Teams
• How does the rent officer compile a list of rents?
• Teams of rent officers collect lettings data and analyse the market.
– Analysis of the lettings data held and the PRS– Research of key market segments and related
sources– Targeted collection
• The aim is to ensure that our database reflects the volume and range of properties within the Private Rented Sector.
Lettings Research Methods
• QA and analyse the data we already have
• Identify any gaps in our database
• Contact landlords for information about the local market
• We collect information from all available sources but are particularly interested in lettings for self managed properties
Analysing the data (IN&W London)
Mapping the data
Plymouth and South Devon H.E.R.B.S.
Plymouth City Centre travel time/distance
How Can You Help?
• LHA levels are determined by the actual rental levels in each BRMA – in other words, the ‘market’
• Landlords are the best source of lettings data• The more lettings data we gather, the more
robust and reflective the LHA figures are.• Do you let rooms? We would be interested to
talk to you
Lettings Information Request
FAO: Anne Mason. Fax No: 01392 606945 /Tel: 01392 606973 Mob: 07776 328515
VOA, 4th Floor, Broadwalk House, Southernhay West, Exeter, EX1 1TS
MARKET RENT ANALYSIS anne.mason@voa.gsi.gov.uk
LANDLORD NAME/ADDRESS :TENANTS
NAME (Optional)
DATE LET
ADDRESSPOST CODE
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
LIVING ROOMS
BEDROOMS RENT per Heating Parking
Lettings information that landlords provide will....
• Be held securely and confidentially
• Ensure that the LHA reflects the market
• Give confidence to all our customers
Contact Details
• Visit our website: www.voa.gov.uk/lettingsresearch
• E-mail us a completed lettings form:
Anne.Mason@voa.gsi.gov.uk
• Call Anne Mason. Rent Officer (Lettings Research) Mobile No: 07776 328515
• Fax us your lettings details on the lettings form Fax No: 01392 606945
Further Information
• Your Local Authority
• lha-direct.voa.gov.uk
• Valuation Office Agency (www.voa.gov.uk)
• DWP (www.dwp.gov.uk)
• www.direct.gov.uk
Any questions?
Lettings Research working in partnership with Landlords