LHA is used to work out how much housing benefit a tenant receives who is living in private rental accommodation.
The total number of people receiving housing benefit in the UK was 4.92m in October 2011 with 5.88m claiming council tax benefit.
David Salusbury, chairman of the National Landlords Association, said: “Today’s statistics show that the economic environment is still having a significant impact on the private rented sector within the UK, with the number of people needing support with their living costs still increasing.
“Although these latest statistics do not tell us anything about whether the government’s reform package for housing benefits is a success, they do show the significant danger of getting housing benefit reform wrong.
“With over 1.24m people now receiving Local Housing Allowance it is crucial that the government supports landlords providing accommodation for this vulnerable group of people. The focus must be on encouraging the supply of rental accommodation, as well as reducing benefit expenditure.”
