Housing support calculator

Local Housing Allowance calculator

See the most Universal Credit or Housing Benefit can pay towards rent for a home in England, how many bedrooms your household is allowed, and how much of the rent you would have to find yourself.

Rates for April 2026 to March 2027 · England only · Independent, not a government service

How much housing benefit will I get?

The most Universal Credit or Housing Benefit can pay towards private rent is the Local Housing Allowance rate for your area and the number of bedrooms your household is allowed. The calculator above works it out from your postcode. What you actually get can be less: Universal Credit is reduced as your income rises, and deductions apply for other adults living with you and the benefit cap. If your rent is more than the rate, you pay the difference.

LHA rates 2026/27 for every area in England

The most Universal Credit can pay towards rent each month in each of England’s 152 Broad Rental Market Areas, for April 2026 to March 2027. Housing Benefit uses weekly rates for the same areas. Areas don’t follow council boundaries: if you’re not sure which one a home is in, use the calculator above, or check on LHA-Direct.

Find an area

Monthly Universal Credit LHA rates by area, April 2026 to March 2027
Area	Shared	1 bed	2 bed	3 bed	4 bed
Ashford	£393.24	£750	£850	£1,097.80	£1,440
Aylesbury	£442.67	£800	£995	£1,330	£1,650
Barnsley	£316.33	£415	£450	£550	£775
Barrow-in-Furness	£395.42	£475	£500	£635	£807.50
Basingstoke	£406.33	£780	£950	£1,150	£1,400
Bath	£540	£815	£980	£1,200	£1,945
Bedford	£450	£650	£825	£1,000	£1,300
Birmingham	£341.58	£695	£750	£825	£1,100
Black Country	£320	£495	£625	£750	£925
Blackwater Valley	£477.98	£800	£1,000	£1,295	£1,700
Bolton and Bury	£341.51	£475	£575	£700	£950
Bournemouth	£426.33	£695	£875	£1,150	£1,550
Bradford and South Dales	£326.33	£450	£525	£635	£750
Brighton and Hove	£586.61	£920	£1,200	£1,450	£2,000
Bristol	£511.33	£900	£1,095	£1,300	£1,850
Bury St Edmunds	£451.33	£630	£775	£955	£1,300
Cambridge	£526.33	£900	£950	£1,125	£1,450
Canterbury	£425	£675	£895	£1,100	£1,315
Central Greater Manchester	£411.58	£775	£875	£950	£1,350
Central Lancs	£304.17	£450	£575	£650	£925
Central London	£829.83	£1,439.97	£1,793.98	£2,160.02	£3,060
Central Norfolk and Norwich	£393.50	£590	£695	£800	£1,150
Chelmsford	£426.33	£795	£950	£1,200	£1,450
Cheltenham	£436.50	£625	£800	£1,000	£1,470
Cherwell Valley	£466.50	£775	£950	£1,185	£1,450
Chesterfield	£351.33	£450	£525	£600	£850
Chichester	£450	£788	£950	£1,225	£1,600
Chilterns	£525	£850	£1,100	£1,450	£2,000
Colchester	£401.33	£625	£795	£975	£1,250
Coventry	£432.35	£575	£675	£775	£1,000
Crawley and Reigate	£476.33	£860	£1,100	£1,365	£1,750
Darlington	£288.96	£360	£450	£530	£695
Derby	£359.83	£450	£595	£700	£935
Doncaster	£304.17	£425	£500	£550	£725
Dover-Shepway	£431.50	£510	£695	£865	£1,200
Durham	£393.25	£393.25	£400	£475	£659.87
East Cheshire	£421.50	£550	£725	£995	£1,750
East Lancs	£291.50	£425	£475	£595	£795
East Thames Valley	£591.50	£900	£1,200	£1,450	£1,900
Eastbourne	£422.50	£720	£900	£1,083	£1,400
Eastern Staffordshire	£321.33	£495	£600	£725	£985.80
Exeter	£537	£630	£795	£950	£1,300
Fylde Coast	£350.88	£400	£542	£625	£742.50
Gloucester	£406.33	£550	£725	£850	£1,200
Grantham and Newark	£376.33	£425	£575	£655	£875.01
Greater Liverpool	£344.36	£500	£595	£650	£875
Grimsby	£317.20	£395	£480	£521.43	£720
Guildford	£515	£950	£1,225	£1,480	£1,978
Halifax	£356.31	£440	£525	£625	£750
Harlow and Stortford	£451.33	£810	£1,025	£1,210	£1,375
Harrogate	£421.33	£595	£735.86	£875	£1,275
Herefordshire	£351.50	£475	£600	£750	£975
High Weald	£459.83	£800	£1,075	£1,323	£1,825
Hull and East Riding	£335.83	£380	£475	£550	£700
Huntingdon	£460	£650	£795	£950	£1,250
Inner East London	£699.50	£1,439.97	£1,750	£2,160.02	£3,000
Inner North London	£708.27	£1,439.97	£1,793.98	£2,160.02	£3,060
Inner South East London	£650	£1,295.50	£1,550	£1,950	£2,625
Inner South West London	£685	£1,420	£1,700	£2,160.02	£2,900
Inner West London	£760	£1,350	£1,625	£2,050	£2,550
Ipswich	£366.50	£595	£717	£800	£1,100
Isle of Wight	£343.27	£515	£650	£815	£995
Kendal	£325.89	£575	£650	£775	£995
Kernow West	£392.50	£550	£695	£815	£1,100
Kings Lynn	£399.83	£548.23	£650	£775	£1,050
Kirklees	£316.33	£450	£525	£650	£825
Lancaster	£394.33	£475	£575	£650	£725
Leeds	£347.62	£675	£775	£850	£1,200
Leicester	£395.42	£540	£650	£775	£1,050
Lincoln	£354.14	£495	£600	£675	£925
Lincolnshire Fens	£368.33	£500	£625	£735	£865.03
Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth	£376.33	£441.07	£575	£630	£825
Luton	£436.17	£700	£875	£1,100	£1,350
Maidstone	£444.83	£750	£905	£1,200	£1,550
Medway and Swale	£410	£675	£850	£940	£1,300
Mendip	£405	£600	£775	£975	£1,350
Mid and East Devon	£404.11	£530	£685	£825	£1,100
Mid and West Dorset	£426.33	£595	£750	£900	£1,250
Mid Staffs	£352.40	£500	£625	£740	£995
Milton Keynes	£501.33	£775	£925	£1,195	£1,495
Newbury	£451.33	£750	£895	£1,200	£1,605
North Cheshire	£341.50	£475	£590	£695	£1,000
North Cornwall and Devon Borders	£368.33	£475	£609	£725	£950
North Cumbria	£319.83	£395	£475	£590	£740
North Devon	£425	£485	£645	£775	£995
North Nottingham	£338.93	£445	£550	£585	£810
North West Kent	£451.33	£750	£995	£1,200	£1,450
North West London	£621.33	£1,100	£1,350	£1,680	£2,100
Northampton	£410.62	£645	£750	£900	£1,160
Northants Central	£375.86	£550	£695	£795	£995
Northumberland	£356.33	£375	£425	£530	£760
Nottingham	£380	£550	£650	£750	£970
Oldham and Rochdale	£344.83	£475	£577.50	£695	£950
Outer East London	£561.33	£1,200	£1,400	£1,675	£1,950
Outer North East London	£549.83	£1,000	£1,250	£1,500	£1,800
Outer North London	£595	£1,150	£1,400	£1,695	£2,200
Outer South East London	£600	£1,050	£1,300	£1,550	£1,800
Outer South London	£569.33	£950	£1,200	£1,500	£1,950
Outer South West London	£591.50	£1,200	£1,495	£1,800	£2,550
Outer West London	£576.33	£1,000	£1,300	£1,475	£1,800
Oxford	£550	£900	£1,125	£1,325	£1,750
Peaks and Dales	£347.62	£475	£595	£695	£900
Peterborough	£344.83	£575	£700	£810	£1,050
Plymouth	£400	£550	£675	£800	£975
Portsmouth	£422.83	£695	£845	£1,000	£1,300
Reading	£391.50	£850	£1,095	£1,300	£1,654
Richmond and Hambleton	£417.67	£450	£550	£650	£830
Rotherham	£351.33	£430	£500	£550	£817.50
Rugby and East	£425	£595	£725	£850	£1,200
Salisbury	£426.33	£650	£780	£915	£1,250
Scarborough	£309.83	£425	£550	£650	£725
Scunthorpe	£310.68	£410	£495	£575	£725
Sheffield	£350	£575	£620	£680	£950
Shropshire	£369.35	£475	£595	£725	£975
Solihull	£412.50	£700	£825	£1,000	£1,375
South Cheshire	£325	£475	£575	£680	£995
South Devon	£367.17	£505	£675	£840	£1,100
South East Herts	£475	£835	£1,050	£1,370	£1,700
South West Essex	£476.33	£775	£950	£1,200	£1,500
South West Herts	£501.33	£950	£1,250	£1,500	£2,000
Southampton	£425	£700	£875	£1,075	£1,450
Southend	£406.33	£680	£875	£1,100	£1,350
Southern Greater Manchester	£411.58	£625	£750	£900	£1,400
Southport	£369.35	£475	£600	£775	£925
St Helens	£324.75	£425	£525	£625	£800
Staffordshire North	£301.33	£425	£480	£595	£800
Stevenage and North Herts	£436.17	£775	£975	£1,250	£1,600
Sunderland	£321.33	£425	£475	£550	£700
Sussex East	£361	£595	£750	£950	£1,150
Swindon	£451.33	£675	£785	£950	£1,300
Tameside and Glossop	£321.08	£525	£600	£750	£1,150
Taunton and West Somerset	£404.11	£575	£725	£850	£1,000
Teesside	£288.96	£410	£475	£550	£750
Thanet	£380	£577.84	£750	£900	£1,150
Tyneside	£381.33	£490	£550	£650	£925
Wakefield	£326.98	£500	£595	£725	£885
Walton	£620	£950	£1,212	£1,450	£1,975
Warwickshire South	£412.50	£700	£850	£1,045	£1,350
West Cheshire	£375.86	£550	£675	£795	£1,224
West Cumbria	£319.83	£385	£475	£550	£700
West Pennine	£310.68	£400	£450	£505	£762.50
West Wiltshire	£450	£595	£725	£900	£1,200
Weston-S-Mare	£451.33	£580	£750	£925	£1,250
Wigan	£339.83	£400	£500	£595	£775
Winchester	£525	£825	£1,050	£1,275	£1,700
Wirral	£318.71	£425	£525	£650	£825
Wolds and Coast	£344.36	£400	£495	£600	£675
Worcester North	£329.83	£515	£650	£750	£995
Worcester South	£382.58	£569	£700	£825	£1,150
Worthing	£445	£760	£950	£1,180	£1,465
Yeovil	£435	£525	£695	£850	£1,250
York	£417.67	£675	£775	£825	£1,200

What is Local Housing Allowance?

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the most Universal Credit or Housing Benefit will pay towards rent for a private tenancy. It depends on where the home is (its Broad Rental Market Area) and how many bedrooms your household is allowed, not on the size of the home you rent. If your rent is higher, you pay the difference.

How many bedrooms am I allowed?

One bedroom for you, or for you and your partner, and one for each other adult aged 16 or over. Two children under 10 are expected to share, whatever their sex, and two children under 16 of the same sex. There are extra bedrooms for an overnight carer, foster carers, and a child or partner who can’t share because of a disability. The most paid is the 4-bedroom rate.

What is the shared accommodation rate?

If you are single, under 35 and live without children or other adults, the most you can get is the shared accommodation rate, the rent for a room in a shared house, even if you rent a whole flat. There are exceptions, including care leavers under 25, people who have spent 3 months in a homeless hostel, people getting PIP, DLA or Attendance Allowance, foster carers, and victims of domestic abuse or modern slavery.

Are LHA rates frozen in 2026?

Yes. The rates for April 2026 to March 2027 are the same as those set in April 2024. They were meant to cover the cheapest 30% of local rents, but rents have risen since: across England, the 2-bedroom rate is now typically about £105 a month below that level. Rates for April 2027 will be decided at the Autumn Budget.

What can I do if my rent is more than the LHA?

You pay the difference from your other income. You can ask your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment, which is short-term help with a shortfall, and Citizens Advice can check you are getting everything you are entitled to. Before you agree to a tenancy, compare the rent with the LHA so you know the gap you would have to cover each month.

Which area is my postcode in?

LHA areas (Broad Rental Market Areas) don’t follow council boundaries. We place the centre of your postcode in the area boundaries published by the Valuation Office Agency. If the postcode is close to the edge of another area, we say so, and you should check the exact address on LHA-Direct, the official lookup.

Before you agree to a tenancy

Know the gap. If the rent is above the LHA, that difference comes out of your other income every month, for as long as you live there.
Other adults cost you. Universal Credit usually takes off £96.55 a month for each other adult living with you, unless an exemption applies.
Ask for help early. Councils can make a Discretionary Housing Payment towards a shortfall, usually for a limited time. Citizens Advice can check what you’re entitled to.
Being on benefits is not a reason to refuse you. Since 1 May 2026, a landlord or agent in England can’t turn you away because you get benefits. They can still check the rent is affordable, counting your benefits as income: more on renting with benefits or bad credit.
Check the home. A free RenterCheck shows the energy rating, licensing and recorded crime for the address, and our rent affordability calculator adds up the rest of the costs.

Where these figures come from

Monthly Universal Credit rates from the Department for Work and Pensions; weekly Housing Benefit rates, the 30th percentile of local rents and the area boundaries from the Valuation Office Agency (part of HMRC since April 2026). Bedroom rules from the Universal Credit Regulations 2013, Schedule 4; the freeze from SI 2026/5. 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.

This calculator is an estimate of the most that can be paid towards rent, not advice, and not what you will receive. RenterCheck is independent and not connected with DWP, HMRC or your council.