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From 7th April 2008 there will be a change in the way that we pay certain types of Housing Benefit. These changes and the rules associated with them are made by central government but will be administered by Elmbridge Borough Council.

The changes affect tenants who rent their property from a private landlord only. The new scheme will only affect current customers if they move address or have a break in their claim.

Local Housing Allowance gives tenants more choice in where they live. And it's fairer too.

This is because:

• With Local Housing Allowance you will get the same amount of benefit as people in the same circumstances as you. With Housing Benefit, people living in smaller or less attractive properties usually got less benefit than people living in larger or more attractive properties
• You can decide how much of your benefit you want to spend on renting a property. For example, you can choose to pay more to rent a large property. Or you can rent a smaller property and use the rest of your benefit for other things
• You can find out how much Local Housing Allowance you can get before you rent a property. The rates are set by| the Rent Service each month and are available from the Civic Centre on our website and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
• If you get Local Housing Allowance you will get your benefit paid to you. It is up to you to pay the rent to your landlord in the same way as other tenants who do not get benefit
• You will find out about your Local Housing Allowance quicker than Housing Benefit

Paying your rent
Usually you will have your Local Housing Allowance paid directly to you. It is up to you to pay the rent to your landlord. If you don't pay your rent you may be evicted from the property. If you do not already have one, you will need to set up a bank account, that way you can pay the rent to your landlord by standing order or direct debit. You can get advice about opening and running a bank account from any bank or building society of your choice. We have a |list of local banks and building societies to help you. You can also get advice from a welfare organisation such as Citizens Advice.
If you are worried about managing your money, ask us if we can help. In special cases we may be able to pay your rent to your landlord. Elmbridge has a joint |Safeguard Policy with Spelthorne and Runnymede Borough Council's. Please read the document if you would like us to consider paying your landlord directly. To make an application for direct payment, please complete an |application for direct payments form and ask your landlord to complete the |Landlords declaration.

Change of circumstances
If you move to a new address or other circumstances change, you should tell us straight away. You may need to make a fresh claim for Local Housing Allowance.

For more information
The DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) has produced some leaflets that go into more detail about the new Local Housing Allowance. These are available to download from the |Department for Work and Pensions website.