From 1 December 2025, a key phase of welfare reform lands in Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities will convert contributory Employment and Support Allowance (old-style ESA) cases to the ‘new style’ ESA, closing off future access to the income-related element. By 1 April 2026, remaining awards of Income Support and old-style Jobseeker’s Allowance will also end, with claimants expected to move to Universal Credit.

Set out in Statutory Rules 2025 No. 176 and sealed on 12 November 2025, the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (Commencement No. 18) (Abolition of Benefits) Order appoints dates that finish the job for legacy benefits. It closes income-related ESA for contributory-only cases, abolishes Income Support and income-based JSA for remaining cases, and provides for certain Housing Benefit awards to end as people leave temporary or supported accommodation.

Who’s affected first? ESA claimants whose current payment is entirely due to the contributory allowance - including those who also have an income-related entitlement but are paid at the contributory rate under section 6(4) of the 2007 Act. For those cases, the change takes effect on 1 December 2025. If a case becomes contributory-only later, the switch happens on that later day.

To protect smooth delivery, the Order allows the Department to delay preparing a claimant commitment when an old-style ESA award converts. During that window, accepting a claimant commitment is not a condition of entitlement. The pause is there, the legislation says, to keep administration efficient while cases are moved across.

Old-style JSA - the income-based version under the 1995 Order - will be switched off for any remaining cases on 1 April 2026. Where someone has made a Universal Credit claim, or has missed the deadline on a migration notice, the usual two-week run-on still applies and is unchanged by this instrument.

Income Support follows the same timetable. Article 39(1)(c) of the 2015 Order is now brought into force for any remaining cases on 1 April 2026, except where a two-week run-on is in play. That sets a clear end-date for a benefit that has been steadily replaced by Universal Credit across the rest of the UK.

Housing Benefit changes are more immediate for people moving out of temporary accommodation or ‘specified’ supported housing. For working-age claimants who are not on Universal Credit and are not being moved by managed migration, if the move to general housing happens on or after 14 November 2025, the existing Housing Benefit award ends the day after the last day in that accommodation. The door remains open to a fresh Housing Benefit claim later if someone again qualifies under regulation 4A, but rent support in general housing will usually come via Universal Credit’s housing costs.

These are Northern Ireland-specific rules. Pension-age exemptions in regulation 4A(3)–(5) of the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 continue to apply, and the Housing Benefit route remains for those living in temporary or specified accommodation. The definitions used in the Order align with the established regulations, keeping supported housing within the Housing Benefit system.

For councils and housing providers across Northern Ireland, the practical effects are clear. More tenants will move into the Universal Credit system for rent help once they step out of hostels and supported schemes, and casework will need to reflect the two-week run-on where it applies. Housing teams should plan for short verification gaps as Housing Benefit stops and UC housing costs start.

For claimants, the immediate action is to check any migration notice and meet the deadline. If you do not claim Universal Credit by the stated date, the law treats your legacy award as having ended, which can affect run-on payments. Those unsure about their status - especially ESA claimants whose awards include both contributory and income-related elements - should confirm their category before 1 December 2025.

The Department’s explanatory note is blunt: this is ‘a further stage’ in replacing six legacy benefits with Universal Credit in Northern Ireland. The legal mechanism is technical - bringing abolition provisions into operation - but the outcome is straightforward for households and caseworkers alike: a final timetable and fewer exceptions.

Key dates now fixed by the Department for Communities are 14 November 2025 for Housing Benefit changes linked to moves out of supported or temporary settings; 1 December 2025 for ESA conversion where payments are contributory-only; and 1 April 2026 for abolition of Income Support and old-style JSA in remaining cases.