You have found the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for your postcode, and now you want the one answer that matters: will it cover the rent in 2026/27, or will your tenant fall short? In most benefit-reliant areas the gap is widening, because the rates are still frozen at the levels set in April 2024 while market rents have kept climbing.
Here is what the freeze actually does to the numbers, and how to find the rate for any outcode.
What LHA is, and what it does not do
LHA is the maximum the state will put towards housing costs for a private tenant claiming the Universal Credit housing element or Housing Benefit. It does not cap the rent you are allowed to charge. It caps what a benefit-reliant tenant can afford before they have to top up the difference from other income.
Two things about how the rate is set matter for landlords:
- Rates are set by Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA), not by street or by individual postcode. Several outcodes usually sit inside one BRMA and share the same rate.
- There are five bedroom categories: the Shared Accommodation Rate, then one, two, three and four bedrooms. There is nothing above four, so a five-bed let is still paid at the four-bed rate.
Why "frozen at 2024 rates" is the whole story
For years LHA drifted out of line with real rents. In April 2024 the government reset the rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents measured during 2023, which for many areas was a meaningful uplift (source: gov.uk, LHA rates 2024 to 2025).
Then it froze them again. The rates were held in cash terms for 2025/26 at the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, and at the time of writing that freeze has carried into 2026/27. So the 2026/27 figure you look up is the same number of pounds as April 2024, roughly two years on. Always confirm the current figure for your BRMA on gov.uk, because this is reviewed at each fiscal event.
The problem is arithmetic. Market rents did not freeze. If local rents rise while the LHA rate stays flat, the share of the rent that benefit covers shrinks every month, and the tenant has to find the difference.
A worked example: the shortfall the freeze creates
These are illustrative figures to show the mechanism, not the real rate for any specific area.
Say a two-bedroom BRMA rate was set at £1,100 a month in April 2024, at the 30th percentile of local rents at the time. It is frozen, so it is still £1,100 for 2026/27.
Now say two-bed market rents in that area have risen about 6% over the two years since. The 30th-percentile rent that £1,100 once matched is now around £1,166 a month.
- LHA two-bed rate (frozen): £1,100 / month
- Current 30th-percentile market rent: £1,166 / month
- Monthly shortfall: £66
- Annual shortfall: £792
That £66 is money a benefit-reliant tenant has to cover from somewhere else, or that you agree to forgo. In areas where a large share of tenants rely on the housing element, the freeze quietly turns into a rent ceiling, because tenants simply cannot bridge a gap that grows each year.
How to find the LHA rate for your postcode
The rate is published per BRMA and per week, so there are two steps most people miss.
- Find the BRMA for your outcode. Use the government's LHA rate lookup on gov.uk (the Valuation Office Agency runs the LHA-Direct lookup that maps a postcode to its BRMA).
- Pick the right bedroom category for the property and the household. The Shared Accommodation Rate, not the one-bed rate, usually applies to a single tenant under 35, with some exemptions.
- Convert the weekly figure to monthly. DWP publishes LHA weekly. To get a monthly figure, multiply the weekly rate by 52 and divide by 12.
Worked conversion, using the same example: a weekly rate of £253.85 becomes £253.85 × 52 ÷ 12 = £1,100 a month. Getting this step wrong is the most common reason a landlord thinks the rate covers the rent when it does not. Multiplying the weekly rate by four, rather than by 52 and dividing by 12, undercounts it by roughly four weeks' rent across a year.
The five categories at a glance
| Category | Who it usually applies to |
|---|---|
| Shared Accommodation Rate | Single tenants under 35 (with exemptions) |
| 1 bedroom | Single person or couple, self-contained |
| 2 bedrooms | Small family |
| 3 bedrooms | Larger family |
| 4 bedrooms | Largest category; 5+ beds still paid at this rate |
What it means if you let in a benefit-reliant area
A frozen rate does not stop you charging the market rent. It changes who can afford to live there without help, and it changes your arrears risk.
- Expect wider shortfalls each year the freeze continues. Build the gap into your assessment of a benefit-reliant tenant, rather than assuming the housing element covers the full rent.
- Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) from the local council can bridge a shortfall, but they are cash-limited and short-term, so they are not something to rely on for the length of a tenancy.
- If you set the rent at or near the LHA rate, you are effectively pricing to what benefit will pay, which in a rising market means accepting below-market rent in exchange for a more reliable, longer-staying tenant. That can be a sound trade in some areas. It should be a decision, not an accident.
The practical takeaway for 2026/27: look up the real weekly rate for your BRMA on gov.uk, convert it to a monthly figure properly, and compare it honestly with the rent you intend to charge. The freeze means that gap is the number to watch, and it grows on its own every month you do nothing.
This is general information, not tax or financial advice.
