If you or your partner go into hospital you will need to write to us with the details.
We will need to know
- The date you went into hospital
- How long you expect your stay to be
- Whether you intend to return to your home after your stay in hospital
- Whether you are letting your home to anyone one else (sub-letting) during your absence.
If you are working your wages may change. If they do please tell us this and then send us your wage slips.
How will a stay in hospital affect my benefit?
If you go into hospital and intend to return to your home within 52 weeks, and you are not subletting your home in your absence, you Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit will normally continue.
If you are in receipt of Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance, this will be withdrawn after 4 weeks. This may affect your Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit calculation as it could reduce your Applicable Amount. The Applicable Amount is a standard amount the Government says you need for your day to day living expenses.
If you have a continuous stay in hospital that lasts for more than 52 weeks your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit may end.
If your stay is expected to be for just a few weeks longer than 52 weeks we will consider whether to allow your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit to continue, but your income may change from the 53rd week and your Applicable Amount will be downrated.
What does downrating mean?
This means that if you receive welfare benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions or from the Pension Service, these will be reduced from the 53rd week of your hospital stay.
If you remain on Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee, these will be reduced but if we were allowing your Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit to continue, the rate would not be affected.
If you do not receive Income Support or Minimum Income Guarantee, then we will reduce your Applicable Amount to the hospital rate. At this point you may receive less benefit, or no longer qualify.
What happens if I come out of hospital and then return to hospital?
If you return to hospital within 28 days of a previous stay, we will treat it as a linking stay. We will start the period of absence again from the start of your subsequent stay, but because the stay is linked, we will use the first date to calculate the 52 weeks from, when we consider downrating your income.