Information for Guests 

Following a discussion with your host, you may be able to continue with your existing accommodation arrangements.

Staying Longer than 6 months

While no written consent from your host is required to stay longer, it would be useful if the host or guest could notify the Council that the hosting arrangement will be continued by emailing ukraine@kingston.gov.uk. 

The Council will also be carrying out 6/12/18/24/30/36 month check-in calls or visits to hosts/guests.

Information for hosts

If you agree to continue to support your guests for longer than the initial 6 months, thank you very much for your continued support in accommodating your guests. National guidance has changed on who is eligible for continued 'Thank You' payments. Please refer to national guidance and also see below. Please note that the national 'Thank You' payments will now be £350 per month per household. 

Kingston Council is also offering a 'Top-Up' payment for hosts hosting 3 or more eligible guests beyond 6 months (see conditions below). Please refer to national guidance and also be aware about when you need to contact the Council in relation to these payments. 

Offering ‘Top-Up’ payments for hosts 

The ‘Top-Up Thank You’ payment is being offered to thank hosts for their continued support to eligible Ukrainian guests beyond the first 6 month period and to enable guests to have further stability in their lives in Kingston. While the host may be eligible for top-up payments, the host will start getting those only after making a top-up claim.

The top-up payment will be proportional to the size of the Ukrainian group that is staying with the Host. These top-up payments will all be in addition to the £350 thank-you payment that all hosts will receive.

Who is eligible for a top-up? 

• If one of your guests has been enrolled in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme for more than 6 months (reached Month 7 in the UK) and you are hosting 3 or more guests under the Homes for Ukraine or Ukraine Permission Extension scheme (transferred from Homes for Ukraine), you may qualify for a Kingston Top-Up payment while your 3 or more guests are staying with you. 
• To qualify, you have to be in recipet of Thank You payments for 3 or more guests (1 payment per household) and none of the guests are considered to be your close family members. 

How much is the Kingston Top-Up payment? 

• If you are hosting 3 eligible people who arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, you can request a 'Top-Up' host payment of £50/month
• if you are hosting 4 or more eligible people who arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, you can request a 'Top-Up' host payment of £150/month

How to apply for Kingston Top-Up payment? 

Please note, these payments are not automatic. you will only receive 'Top-Up' payments once you have opted in, these will not be paid retrospectively. You can opt in by emailing ukraine@kingston.gov.uk with the following information: 

Name of lead sponsor/host
Address where the guest is residing 
Name of guest(s)
Number of guest(s)
Date of guest's arrival 

If you are currently receiving Top-Up payments and one of your guests moves onto the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, you will have to make a new Top-Up payment claim along with your new Thank You payment claim to keep receiving Top-Up payments. Please email ukraine@kingston.gov.uk to get more details. 

Please note: This Kingston Top-Up payment is funded by the Kingston Homes for Ukraine grant and will be reviewed regularly. The offer may change or be withdran depending on available funds and national guidance on the Homes for Ukraine and UPE schemes. We will keep the hosts receiving Top-Up payments updated on any changes to the offer. 

Close Family Members ‘Thank You’ payment guidance 

From 1st October 2024 all the new 'Thank You' payment claims must follow an updated National Guidance under which 'Thank You' payments to sponsors/hosts will only be issued where the guest and sponsor/host are not in a close family relationship. 

The definition of a close family member includes:

• a spouse, or civil or unmarried partner
• a parent
• a parent-in-law
• a son or daughter
• a son- or daughter-in-law
• a step-son or step-daughter
• a sibling
• a grandparent; or
• the spouse, or civil or unmarried partner of any of these people.

Guests who are already in the UK and move in with a close family member are classified as having left the Homes for Ukraine scheme rather than a rematch.

Guest absence

If your guests are away for more than 4 consecutive weeks in a single period, or it has been 4 consecutive weeks and they have not returned, please contact us via email. Once you have notified the Council of a guest's absence your 'Thank You' payments will be paused. Please notify the Council when your guests return and your 'Thank You' payments will be reinstated. Please see the guidance here.

If your guest is leaving temporarily or permanently, please discuss arangements around storing the guest's belongings at your property before the departure if you would like to be able to use the room immediately. 'Thank You' payments will not be made by the Council for storing guest's belongings.

Hosting at a rented property

If your landlord had previously agreed for you to host under the scheme for a minimum of 6 months, it would be advisable to inform them of your plans to continue hosting beyond 6 months with as much notice as possible. 

Kingston Council does not require any evidence of this for the arrangement to continue. It is your responsibility to ensure that your landlord is in agreement with any extension of hosting. However, you may be contacted by the Kingston Unitied for Ukraine (KUU) team at the Council and asked to confirm that your landlord is aware and has consented to the continued use of the property for hosting. 

The host has offered to continue hosting but the guest wants to change accommodation

If you would like to continue hosting but your guests have chosen to leave, either to return to Ukraine or move elsewhere, please contact ukraine@kingston.gov.uk to let us know about your availability.

The Council are always looking for hosts who are available for rematching guests whose original hosts can no longer accommodate them. 

When a hosting arrangement ends, either the guest or host will need to fill out this Departure Form to inform the council of the date that the guest moved out. This then prompts the council to update their records and stop 'Thank You' payments, preventing an invoice being issued.