Silly question but can’t make up my mind today

My client’s household are entitled to 4 bedrooms under the LHA size criteria, but they actually live in a 3 bedroom house.  Should her HB be calculated based on the local 3 bed or 4 bed rate?  My reading of it is that it should be 4 bed, but have nagging doubts I might be wrong so wanted to double check.

3 bed. It USED to be the 4 bed, and this would provide access to the £15 excess (and that was the big selling point of LHA that people could choose which was their priority, the space or the cash), but since that’s gone it’s restricted to “what they’ve got”, rather than what they need.

I knew there was a reason for the doubts - apart from anything else it just seemed inconceivable they would pass up any excuse to reduce benefit!  Thanks.

It is still the four bed LHA, but her HB eligible rent cannot be any more than her actual real life rent.  This gives her a four-bed budget within which she can presumably afford a slightly better standard of three-bed property, which she might prefer to a bog-standard LHA-level four bed property.  It’s her choice.

Yes it is 4 bed, and it shouldn’t be a problem, wahtever software your client’s LA use to calculate entitlement should result in the same, 4 bed LHA award.

Ah, so I was right in the first place.  It happens that her rent is above even the 4 bedroom rate, never mind the 3 bed rate.