From 1 January 2027, the UK will significantly reduce state funding for the Homes for Ukraine scheme: monthly payments to British households providing accommodation to Ukrainians will be reduced from £350 to £100, reports The Guardian.
This means the so-called ‘thank you payment’ will be reduced by 71.4 per cent.
The new rules will apply both to property owners already participating in the Homes for Ukraine scheme and to new participants.
At the same time, the British government is also cutting funding to local authorities responsible for implementing the scheme. The payment to local authorities per Ukrainian arrival will fall from 5,900 to 3,300 pounds.
According to The Guardian, since the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ programme was launched in March 2022, 181,000 of the approximately 234,000 Ukrainians who arrived in the UK after the start of the full-scale war have received support through it. The UK government has already allocated more than £1.81 billion to the programme.
The cut in funding is causing concern amongst Ukrainians and host families regarding the continued availability of free accommodation. Programme participants interviewed by The Guardian stated that the reduction in payments could force some landlords to withdraw from the scheme.
The UK government has suggested that one option for continued accommodation is for the host to transition from ‘host’ status to a standard landlord-tenant relationship, under which Ukrainians would pay for their accommodation themselves.
This could prove particularly difficult for elderly Ukrainians, people with disabilities and low-income families, who would find it hard to afford rent on the UK property market on their own.
It should be noted, however, that the £350 is not rent paid by the Ukrainians, but a government payment to the host family. Only one such payment may be made per property, regardless of the number of guests staying there.
For Ukrainians who have switched from the Homes for Ukraine visa to the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, payments to the host family may be made for a maximum of 18 months from the date the guest first switched to UPE. After this period, the government’s ‘thank you’ payment ceases.
The ‘Homes for Ukraine’ programme was launched by the UK government on 14 March 2022. The scheme enabled UK residents to provide accommodation to Ukrainians in their own homes or separate properties, whilst receiving a monthly compensation payment from the state.