Homes for Ukraine: Future accommodation options

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

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-month and 12- month check-in calls or visits to hosts/guests.

Information for hosts

Hosts will receive £350 a month during the first 12 months of their guests’ stay. This increases to £500 once the guest has been in the UK for 12 months in order to help sponsors who are able to continue hosting for longer, up to a maximum duration of 2 years. Hosts in Kingston will also be able to opt in to a ‘Top Up’ Thank you payments. 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 arrival

Offering ‘top up’ payments for hosts 

The ‘Top Up Thank You’ payment is being offered to thank hosts for their continued support to Ukrainian guests beyond the first 6 month period and to enable guests to have further stability in their lives in Kingston. 

How much is the additional ‘Top Up’ payment

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. It can be offered from Months 7 to Month 12 while your guests are with you:

• Ukrainian guest group - if you are hosting up to 2 people, you can request a ‘top up’ host payment of £150/month 
• Ukrainian guest group – if you are hosting 3 people, you can request a ‘top up’ host payment of £200/month 
• Ukrainian guest group – if you are hosting 4 or more people, you can request a ‘top up’ host payment of £300/month 

From Month 13, hosts are eligible for £500 per month from the national government. In addition Kingston Council will match the total monthly payments received from ‘Top Up’ payments offered from months 7-12 that exceeded £500. For example, from month 13, you will receive £500 plus:

• if you are hosting 3 people, you can request a ‘top up’ host payment of £50/month
• if you are hosting 4 or more people, you can request a ‘top up’ host payment of £150/month 

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 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. 

If you have already hosted a guest for 6 months, you would be eligible for the ‘Top up’ Thank You Payments for months 7-12 hosting a new guest(s).

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.