Northern Ireland has set out the final steps to retire the last legacy benefits. A Department for Communities order made on 12 November confirms three hard dates: contributory-only ‘old style’ ESA moves to ‘new style’ ESA on 1 December 2025; remaining awards of Income Support and income‑based Jobseeker’s Allowance end on 1 April 2026; and, from 14 November 2025, working‑age tenants who leave temporary or specified accommodation will no longer stay on Housing Benefit and must claim housing costs through Universal Credit. The changes complete the abolition programme set in the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015.

For ESA claimants, the key point is whether their existing award is wholly down to the contributory element. Where it is, their award converts to the ‘new style’ contributory ESA on 1 December. If someone currently has an income‑related top‑up, that top‑up can’t arise in future once the award becomes contributory‑only; conversion would then happen if their circumstances later mean no income‑related entitlement. The legal underpinning flows from Article 39 of the 2015 Order, which abolishes income‑related ESA.

For Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support, the order draws a line under the remaining income‑based awards on 1 April 2026. This follows a year of managed migration notices and runs alongside the Executive’s wider UC programme. The Department’s migration timetable for 2025 set out that income‑based JSA and income‑related ESA would be brought into the process after spring, with the final clean‑up in 2026.

Housing providers should note the immediate change from 14 November 2025. When a working‑age tenant moves out of temporary or specified accommodation into general needs housing, any Housing Benefit award ends and housing costs move to Universal Credit. Great Britain is implementing the same switch from the same date; the DWP has told councils the change is not retrospective and mirrors the UC housing element rules. In Northern Ireland, ‘temporary’ and ‘specified’ accommodation are defined in legislation and include placements arranged by the Housing Executive or a social landlord for homelessness duties.

Two protections stay in place. First, the well‑trailed run‑on payments when people move to UC continue to cushion the change-useful where Housing Benefit stops and the UC housing element starts the same month. Second, older claimants over the State Pension Credit qualifying age keep access to Housing Benefit under the existing exemptions. Front‑line advisers in Northern Ireland have also flagged the non‑repayable two‑week run‑on for legacy benefits during migration.

On the ground, councils, the Housing Executive and housing associations will need to tighten hand‑offs at tenancy sign‑ups. For tenants moving on from temporary or supported schemes, the message is simple: UC must carry the rent from the day after Housing Benefit ends. DWP guidance to English councils stresses the change applies only to moves occurring on or after 14 November 2025; the same practical approach will help NI landlords keep arrears down as cases transition.

The shift lands into a UC caseload that has been rising steadily. Latest official statistics show 187,400 households on Universal Credit in Northern Ireland in February 2025, up 2.9% since November 2024, with 4,800 new starts that month and more than 37,000 households migrated from legacy benefits to date. That pipeline will grow as Income Support and income‑based JSA are wound down.

For claimants, nothing changes unless and until a Migration Notice arrives or their housing situation changes. Those receiving a notice have three months to make a UC claim to secure transitional protection where due. As Communities Minister Gordon Lyons put it earlier this year, people who get a letter should “take the appropriate action”. Advice remains available via Jobs and Benefits offices and independent services.

Local providers can get ahead by building UC claims into move‑on planning, scheduling rent verifications quickly, and warning tenants that Housing Benefit will not follow them into general needs accommodation after 14 November. That includes clarifying when a Transition to UC Housing Payment applies and aligning rent cycles so the UC housing element arrives in time to meet the first full month’s rent.

Bottom line for Northern Ireland: contributory ESA switches on 1 December 2025; the last income‑based JSA and Income Support cases close on 1 April 2026; and Housing Benefit stops carrying over when tenants move on from temporary or specified accommodation from 14 November 2025. The policy aim-set back in 2015-is finally being delivered, but success will hinge on clear advice, tidy hand‑offs, and prompt UC claims.