Each local authority will be divided into Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) which will be set by The Rent Service.  On a monthly basis the Rent Service will publish individual Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for up to 5 bedrooms in each of the BRMA areas.

It has been proposed that Royal Borough Windsor & Maidenhead will have 2 BRMAs and the LHA rate payable will depend on which area the customer lives in.

These figures will be published by the council on a monthly basis so that landlords and prospective LHA customers can find out the amount of rent the LHA will cover each month.

If a customer finds a property that they like with a rent that exceeds their LHA they will need, as they do now, to make up the difference themselves. But if a customer finds somewhere with a rent below their allowance, they will be able to keep the difference up to a maximum of £15.00 a week.

The amount of LHA is dependant on the following factors:

• The number of rooms the customers needs 
• The area that he or she lives in
• Whether someone lives with them who is not a dependant

The number of rooms that the tenant qualifies for (the size criteria) are one bedroom for every:

• Adult couple (including civil partners) 
• Adult aged 16 or over
• Any two children under age 10
• Any two children of the same sex aged 10 to 15
• Any other child
• Joint tenants receive a proportion of the rate payable for a property of the size applicable to all the tenants together.

Below are some examples of how many bedrooms certain households would qualify for:

1.  A couple, with a 16 year old daughter, 11 year old son and two 3 year old twins would qualify for a four bedroom home. 

2.  A single mother, who has a 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter, would qualify for a two bedroom property.

3.  A couple who live with an elderly relative and their 7 year old daughter; will qualify for a 3 bedroom property.