Hospital Admission - Housing Benefit - Rent

How hospital admission affects you or your family.

Customer

Single

After 52 weeks:
Housing Benefit ceases after 52 weeks or earlier if it becomes known that the customer will not be returning home, or his absence will be substantially more than 52 weeks.

Partnered

After 52 weeks:
(or earlier if it is clear that the customer is not going to return home, or is going to be absent for substantially more than 52 weeks) Housing Benefit will cease and the partner has to make a separate claim.

Other Information:

If both the customer and partner are in hospital Housing Benefit will cease when the second person has been in hospital for 52 weeks.

If there are dependent children in the house, the person looking after them may be able to claim Housing Benefit and similarly if there is a non-dependant remaining in the house, this person may be able to claim Housing Benefit. Customer should contact the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in such circumstances.

Lone Parent

After 52 weeks:
(or earlier if it is clear that the customer is not going to return home, or is going to be absent for substantially more than 52 weeks)

Housing Benefit would normally cease but if there are dependent children in the house, the person looking after them may be able to claim Housing Benefit and similarly if there is a non-dependent remaining in the house this person may be able to claim Housing Benefit. Customers should contact the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in such circumstances.

Partner

After 52 weeks:
(or earlier if it is clear that the customer is not going to return home, or is going to be absent for substantially more than 52 weeks)

The partner is excluded from the assessment.

If both the customer and partner have been in hospital for over 52 weeks Housing Benefit would normally cease but if there are dependent children in the house, the person looking after them may be able to claim Housing Benefit and similarly if there is a non-dependent remaining in the house this person may be able to claim Housing Benefit. Customers should contact the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in such circumstances.