Homes 4 Ukraine - new government guidance for landlord hosts

This guidance was issued by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities this week.

This guidance is in addition to the information and guidance provided by your local council.

We encourage you to talk to your guest four months after their arrival in the UK, about the options for their next steps, including:

- continuing sponsorship

- Rent a Room scheme

- finding your guest a new host (rematching)

- renting private accommodation

- contacting your local council for alternative accommodation

Whatever you decide to do at the six-month point, tell your local council two months before. It will make it easier for them to offer support if your guest is moving on or to continue make the thank you payments if you continue to host. You should continue to keep the council informed, especially if anything changes after this point. 

Continuing sponsorship

You might want to continue sponsoring for longer than six months. We ask everyone who is hosting guests, particularly those coming up to their fourth month of sponsoring, to continue hosting their guests for as long as they can.

Thank you payments to hosts are available for the first 12 months of sponsoring. If you continue to host, you are eligible to receive thank you payments, for the months that you host.

If you arrange to host a guest without the agreement of the local council then you won’t be able to claim the thank you payment, because this is outside of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

However, we understand that not everyone can continue to offer accommodation after six months and guests might want to find their own accommodation. Where that is the case, we encourage you to work with your guests to develop a plan for how they will move on.

Rent a Room scheme

If you no longer want to host guests, you could consider renting a room in your home under the Rent A Room Scheme. This is an accommodation option to support guests. The Rent a Room Scheme lets people earn up to a maximum of £7,500 per year, tax-free, from letting out furnished accommodation in their home.

Finding a new host (rematching)

If your guests are not ready to leave sponsorship and move into their own alternative accommodation, but you can no longer accommodate them, they may want to find a new host.

You could help your guests to find a new host, for example through:

- someone that you already know

- a recognised provider

- local faith groups

- community groups

- charities

- other organisations

The local council may also be able to help them find a new host.

Once your guests have found a new host, it is very important that they contact the local council so they can make the necessary checks, and to approve the arrangement. This should happen before they move in with a new host.

If they want to move to another area of the UK, they must tell the local council before moving. The current council will then contact the council in the new area they want to move to, so they can make any necessary checks and can confirm the new living arrangements are suitable. If they do not do this, the guest could be at risk and the new host will not be entitled to the ‘thank you’ payment.

If your current guests move out, you can host another guest and receive the monthly thank you payment.

You can find out more information if you sponsor a child living in the UK without a parent or legal guardian, as there is a separate process for rematching children.

Renting private accommodation

We have published a guide to help guests understand how to rent in England. This will help guests when they are ready and able to move out of sponsorship into independent accommodation. This guide is now available [online] in Ukrainian and Russian. 

If guests are considering renting their own accommodation, they can read more information [online] about their rights and responsibilities as a tenant. There is also Information about renting in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Contacting your local council for alternative accommodation

If your guest can’t take advantage of any of the options above and you are concerned about where they will live after your sponsorship ends, contact your local council.

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