Submit your rental data to help update LHA levels, Government urges landlords

Landlords are being urged to share rental data to help set Local Housing Allowance (LHA) levels and the housing element of Universal Credit from next April.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) wants to boost private landlord rental data on its database in the period immediately before the cut-off date for producing the ‘list of rents’ on 30th September.

This list is used to calculate the 30th percentile figures – meaning that in each area, 30% of homes available for market rent should be cheaper than this level and 70% are more expensive.

Frozen

LHA helps tenants on benefits pay the rent but was frozen in cash terms in April 2021. Housing campaigners are looking for the government to provide some flexibility; the NRLA points out that more than half of tenants in the PRS who rely on Universal Credit to pay their rent have a shortfall between the amount they receive and what they pay for their housing.

Read more about the LHA freeze.

The VOA has put a shout-out on social media telling landlords that by sharing rental data, they can contribute to the bigger picture and help the government provide housing benefits to around two million tenants, calculate official rental statistics and measure inflation. It adds that the information will also help support and maintain tenancies in their local area.

To compile the list, it needs basic rental details for new tenancies and renewals including the full property address, type of property, number of bedrooms and living rooms, tenancy start date and rent paid.

HMO landlords – particularly in Portsmouth – are currently being referred to the VOA to have their council tax bands reassessed, a move which is substantially putting up many tenants’ bills. Read our report on the developments within the city.

To submit your rental data to the VOA, use the form and contact information available on this page.