when does 52 weeks’ absence from home crystallise?

were the council advised he was popping home and were any of the visits overnight?

I think the combined effect of the key UT decisions is that the return home must begin and end on different days.

I haven’t got the citations handy but I think the law is now settled (something in my head telling me Slough Council was involved) as follows:

- the day on which you become absent is a day of absence
- the day on which you return home is not a day of absence

It seems to me that if you return home during the day, and stay for a bit, but then leave home again later the same day, the second event will cancel the effect of the first and it will be as if you never returned.  So you need to stay there at least until midnight.

There are a bunch of places to refer to on this, but borrowing from our article on the subject (https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/benefits/housing_benefit/housing_benefit_during_temporary_absences_from_home#reference-2) here are three:
-R v Penwith DC HBRB ex parte Burt (1990) 28 HLR 292;
-HK v South Hams DC (HB) [2017] UKUT 254 (AAC);
-para A3.460 DWP HB Guidance Manual

Dan at SLAM we used to rely on this Kernowyk case Elliot flagged up.