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

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-month, 12-month, 18-month, 24-month and 30-month check-in calls or visits to hosts/guests.

Information for hosts

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.

Hosts in Kingston will also be able to opt in to a ‘Top Up’  'Thank You' payments. 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 arrival

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;
• a son or 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.

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. While the host may be eligible for top-up payments, the host will start getting those only after making a top-up claim.

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. You will theefore 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 Kingston Unitied for Ukraine 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.