Local Housing Allowance
LHA rates in London 2026/27
The most Universal Credit or Housing Benefit can pay towards private rent in each of London’s 14 Broad Rental Market Areas, and the boroughs each one covers.
Rates for April 2026 to March 2027 · Independent, not a government service
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Check a property freeWhat are the LHA rates in London?
London has 14 Local Housing Allowance areas, each with its own rates. For April 2026 to March 2027, the 2-bedroom rate runs from £1,200 a month in Outer South London to £1,793.98 in Inner North London. The table below has every area's rates and the boroughs it covers.
| Area | Shared | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | Mainly covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central London | £829.83 | £1,439.97 | £1,793.98 | £2,160.02 | Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea |
| Inner East London | £699.50 | £1,439.97 | £1,750 | £2,160.02 | Tower Hamlets, Hackney |
| Inner North London | £708.27 | £1,439.97 | £1,793.98 | £2,160.02 | Camden, Islington, Brent |
| Inner South East London | £650 | £1,295.50 | £1,550 | £1,950 | Southwark, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich |
| Inner South West London | £685 | £1,420 | £1,700 | £2,160.02 | Wandsworth |
| Inner West London | £760 | £1,350 | £1,625 | £2,050 | Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing, Hounslow |
| North West London | £621.33 | £1,100 | £1,350 | £1,680 | Harrow, Brent, Hillingdon |
| Outer East London | £561.33 | £1,200 | £1,400 | £1,675 | Newham, Waltham Forest |
| Outer North East London | £549.83 | £1,000 | £1,250 | £1,500 | Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Epping Forest |
| Outer North London | £595 | £1,150 | £1,400 | £1,695 | Enfield, Haringey, Barnet |
| Outer South East London | £600 | £1,050 | £1,300 | £1,550 | Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich |
| Outer South London | £569.33 | £950 | £1,200 | £1,500 | Croydon, Epsom and Ewell, Sutton, Tandridge, Merton |
| Outer South West London | £591.50 | £1,200 | £1,495 | £1,800 | Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Merton |
| Outer West London | £576.33 | £1,000 | £1,300 | £1,475 | Hillingdon, Hounslow, Ealing |
Monthly Universal Credit rates. “Mainly covers” lists boroughs with at least a quarter of their private renters in the area (Census 2021); each area’s page has the full list, the weekly Housing Benefit rates and the 4-bedroom rate.
Which London area am I in?
The areas don’t follow borough boundaries, and most boroughs are split between two or three of them. Enter the postcode in our Local Housing Allowance calculator, or check on LHA-Direct, the Valuation Office Agency’s official lookup.
Are London LHA rates going up?
Not this year. The rates for April 2026 to March 2027 are frozen at the April 2024 level, while London rents have kept rising. Rates for April 2027 have not been announced yet: the 28 October 2026 Budget did not mention them.
Work out your rate from a postcode and your household, or see average rents in every London borough.
Where these figures come from
Monthly Universal Credit rates from the Department for Work and Pensions; area boundaries from the Valuation Office Agency; boroughs placed in areas by Census 2021 private renting households. The official lookup is LHA-Direct. Contains public sector information from the Valuation Office Agency (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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