If your WMC is below the Local Housing Allowance will cover many charges such as heating and hot water that are normally excluded from housing benefit.
35b
If the claimant’s housing benefit is calculated under the local housing allowance (LHA) rules, the local authority does not deduct any service charges. This is because the rent officer has already taken service charges into account in arriving at the local housing allowance figure. The claimant’s eligible rent for housing benefit is the appropriate LHA figure or the actual rent paid if lower, even if the actual rent contains service charges that would normally be ineligible for housing benefit.
There are some exceptions depending on the status of the Almshouse association ie if they are registered housing associations but generally this regulation holds in the majority of cases