Mortgage interest

Would mortgage interest continue to be paid on a property which is disregarded for 26 weeks when the customer enters a care home? Would the mortgage interest be paid if the customer accepted a tenancy in Extra Care Housing claiming Housing Benefit?

Gut reaction: mortgage interest is only payable on the dwelling occupied as the home. If the admission to the care home is intended to be permanent, rather than short-term with an intention to return, then it seems to me that the dwelling has ceased to qualify for interest payments.