You have two homes
If you live in one home so that you can attend your course and in another home at other times, but you are only liable for rent on one, you can get HB for that place even while you are not there. This rule applies to lone parents and single students eligible for HB. It does not help you if you pay rent at one place and a mortgage on the other.
1Reg 7(3) HB RegsExample
Emily’s normal home is in Bristol, where she lives with her 17 year old daughter who is at school. She has to pay rent for her Bristol home. Emily is studying at Leeds University and lives with a cousin rent free while in Leeds. Emily can get HB for her Bristol home throughout the year. Whether any HB is payable, and at what times, depends on the amount of her grant and loan.
A couple (one of whom is a student eligible for HB) who have to live in two separate homes can get HB on both if the local authority decides that this is reasonable.
2Reg 7(6)(b) HB Regs