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Local Housing Allowance: Shared Housing

Asked by Rachel BlakeLabour (Co-op)Department for Work and PensionsTabled Answered 8 May 2025UIN 49226

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many adults living in temporary accommodation receive the Shared Accommodation Rate of Local Housing Allowance.

Answered by Sir Stephen Timms

The shared accommodation rate does not apply in temporary accommodation.

Temporary Accommodation is defined as housing that a claimant has been placed in by a local authority or housing association to meet the local authority’s statutory homelessness duty or to prevent homelessness.

Costs for housing support to those in private rental accommodation are subject to the Local Housing Allowance. The Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) applies to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit claimants who are under 35 years of age, living on their own, and renting privately.

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