Advice for hosts matched with Ukrainian guests

This guidance explains what options and support are available to you when you have sponsored guests for 6 months.

We are required to check hosts' accommodation is safe and there are no health and safety issues.

To carry out these checks we will visit the property and this is what you can expect on the day:

• Officer identification - the officer visiting the property will have official photo identification with them. You can always call us on 01883 722000 to verify their identification. The officer will not ask for any payment or financial information.
• Length of visit - the visit will take around an hour, but it does depend on the size of your property.
• Access to the property - we will need to see the whole property. However, we are particularly interested in seeing the main shared living areas and the rooms being used by the Ukrainian guests such as, bathrooms, kitchen, living rooms and bedrooms. If more areas need to be seen, then we will explain this to you and record it on the paperwork.
• Amenities – we will want to see the property has a bathroom and kitchen which is in good order and able to meet the households needs. If we identify any improvements, we will discuss this with you.
• Fire safety - smoke alarms are required on each level of the property. You will need to show they are working properly. For further information on safety in the home.
• Carbon Monoxide - if you have an open flue appliance, such as a log burner or an open fire then a carbon monoxide detector is needed and we will want to see it.
• Low windows (risk of falls from above ground floor height) - this is about the safety of small children and we will look at the windows and advise you if safety devices need to be fitted.
• Electrical safety - an electrical test certificate is not needed unless a significant safety issue is found. We will check some power points in the bedrooms and other shared living areas to make sure they work safely and we may take a photograph of the property fuse box/consumer unit.
• Room sizes and occupancy – we will check to ensure the bedroom/s are suitable for your guests, for example:
  • Two people should not be in one room unless they are adult cohabiting partners, a parent and child, two siblings of the same gender if aged 10 and over, two siblings of any gender if under the age of 10.
  • Individuals who do not know each other should not be given the same room.
• Animals - please let us know before we visit if you have any licensable animals (such as a dangerous wild animal) on the property. We may ask you about any animals you have, their behaviour and how they are safely managed in the home. We have information if your guests are bringing their pet with them.

After the visit

We will let you know if the checks are successful, or if anything else needs to be done to the property before it can be a home for your Ukrainian guests too.

You do not have to carry out any work to the property, but if your property does not pass our accommodation check, you may not be able to provide a home for Ukrainians.

Once your guests have arrived

We will contact you regularly and visit while your Ukrainian guests are staying with you to check there are no issues.

Everyone aged 16 years and over in your home must have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) background check to see if anyone has any criminal convictions. We will carry out the background check so please don't complete the form and make the payment independently as we cannot refund you and we will still need you to complete our process.

If your guests have children living with them, we will carry out an Enhanced DBS check (including a check of the children’s barred list), for all those who are 16 or over in your household who are not related to the guest.

We may ask for an Enhanced DBS check (including a check of the adults' barred list) to be done if an adult guest requires additional support due to age, disability or illness, which you as the host or any adult aged 16 or over in your household intends to provide.

Even if you already have a valid DBS certificate, we still need to complete our own check.

Formal identification process

You will receive an appointment to visit the Council Offices in Oxted to carry out the formal identification process. Each person (aged 16 and over) needs to bring three different forms of identification showing name, address and date of birth.

You can find out what documents you will need to bring and our opening hours.

Online DBS application form

Once the formal identification part of the DBS background checks has been completed, you can either complete the rest of the application during your appointment, or be sent a unique link by e-mail to complete the rest of the application at home.

Please contact us to confirm when you have received the results of your DBS check, which will be sent directly to you.

We may need to see your DBS certificate as part of the process and will let you know if that’s the case.

Once your Ukrainian guests' UK visa have been issued they are now able to enter the UK.

We do not recommend your guests travel to the UK and stay with you until the accommodation and background checks have been completed.

If your guests have already arrived, or you know their travel date please e-mail us with their arrival date.

We know how important keeping your personal data secure and safe is.

We only collect and keep personal information about you so we can manage the Homes for Ukraine scheme. We will only share your personal data with our partners Surrey County Council. For more information about our data protection policy.

You have the option to receive a thank you payment, paid in arrears, for the length of your guest’s Homes for Ukraine scheme visa, as long as you are hosting your guests and the accommodation provided is of a suitable standard. 

The government rate of thank you payments is £350 per month. In Surrey we will continue topping up thank you payments to hosts in receipt of the payments to £600 per month until March 2027. From April 2027 thank you payments will return to the level of Government funding at that time.

You will be eligible for the first monthly payment once the accommodation you are providing has been checked and everybody in the household over the age of 16 has passed DBS checks.

Your guest needs to have been with you for more than half the month for you to be eligible for thank you payments for that month.

• For sponsors who receive benefits, the government is ensuring thank you payments do not affect your benefit entitlement.
• Thank you payments will not affect any council tax discounts for single occupancy.
• They will be tax free.

If all your guest(s) travel away for more than four consecutive weeks, we have to pause the thank you payments. It is your responsibility to keep us updated if your guests will travel away for longer than 4 weeks. In order for us to give you the correct advice, please keep us updated if your guests will be leaving the host accommodation for longer than a week.

If your guest moves out of your home for any reason, you must let us know by e-mailing ukraine@tandridge.gov.uk, as you will no longer be eligible for the monthly payments.

You must not charge rent if you are in receipt of thank you payments, but you can ask for a reasonable and proportional contribution towards household bills. Contact us if you are considering asking your guests for a contribution towards household bills.

Sponsors/hosts are not eligible for thank you payments for hosting a close family member. If a relationship is formed, you must let us know immediately.

If you would like to claim thank you payments, you will need to provide us with the bank account details for the account you would like your payments to be made to and sign a thank you payment declaration.

Thank you payments under Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme

The government has extended thank you payments for 18 months of the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme and in Surrey these payments to eligible hosts will be topped up to £600 per month until March 2027.

Thank you payments to hosts will stop after the first 18 months of their guest’s UPE visa.

The guest must previously have been a Homes for Ukraine permission holder and thank you payments will not be payable if there is a close family relationship between sponsor/host and guest.

Sponsors/hosts will need to reapply for thank you payments if they wish to continue receiving them when their guests move from Homes for Ukraine visas to UPE visas.

Find out more about thank you payments and UPE.

Adults and children coming to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme qualify for a £200 per person welcome payment. This is in the form of a payment card and can be collected by your Ukrainian guests from reception in the Council Offices in Oxted.

The card will come with a PIN number and can be used in shops and online. The money cannot be withdrawn from the card and the card cannot be used overseas.

Please make sure your guests make an appointment to collect their welcome payment cards, as we may not be able to issue the welcome payment if we are not expecting them. Your Ukrainian guests will need to bring their passport and visa with them to the appointment.

Companies making properties available to support the Homes for Ukraine scheme will be relieved from the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) and the 15% rise of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).

As a host, we would like you to please support and help your guests to adapt to life in the UK.

The first thing to do will be to make sure they are comfortable in their accommodation and setup with the basics. They should have enough food and essential supplies like toiletries and it’s worth checking they’ve got access to a mobile phone and the internet so they can stay in touch with family and friends. Further information can be found on the Government's website.

You should try to help direct your guests to public services. For example, this could involve helping them:

• Contact and register with a local GP.
• Contact and register with a NHS dentist.
• With School admissions information.
• Find out about getting free school meals. Children in reception, Year 1 and Year 2 automatically get free school meals. Children in Year 3 or above may be eligible for free school meals if the parent is receiving Universal Credit. Please contact your child's allocated school.
• Find out about free home to school travel.
• Get advice and support to find childcare from the Family Information Service.
• Find adult social care.
• Find mental health and emotional wellbeing support, for children and for adults.

Benefits

People fleeing Ukraine and arriving in the UK can claim Universal Credit immediately. They will also be eligible for:

• Child benefit. Anyone coming to the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme or Homes for Ukraine scheme is entitled to claim child benefit immediately.
• Housing benefit.
• Pension credit.
• Personal independence payment.
• Child disability living allowance.
• Carers allowance.
• Attendance allowance.

Employment

Ukrainians arriving in the UK can also access jobs support immediately. The Department for Works and Pensions is putting together support through the Jobcentres to help people:

• Find work.
• Provide advice on benefit eligibility.
• Support them to claim benefits.

Council tax

Ukrainians with Homes for Ukraine visas are disregarded for council tax purposes. This means that if you receive a 25% discount for being the only adult in a property, you will continue to receive the discount if you're hosting Ukrainian guests under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

If your property is exempt from council tax, you will not lose your exemption.

If you provide separate accommodation for your guests, for example in another property you own but do not live in, your guests will be responsible for the council tax. If all the residents have a Homes for Ukraine visa, they will receive a 50% discount. They may also be able to claim council tax support to help them pay for the remaining 50% of the bill.

Guests moving on to UPE visas continue to be disregarded for the purposes of council tax where they are still being hosted in connection with the Homes for Ukraine scheme and their host is still eligible for thank you payments. When they leave the hosting arrangements part way through a month, for example renting a room or moving to their own property, the disregard will expire at the end of that month.

Rail operators will provide Ukrainian guests with a single onward journey via national rail free of charge on arrival in Great Britain to their final destination.

They have 48 hours to make their onward journey. They only need to show a Ukrainian passport and a boarding pass or ticket showing arrival into the country within the last 48 hours.

All the information is on National Rail Enquiries.

This guide for Ukrainians arriving in the UK covers what guests need to know in their first few days, getting used to life in the UK including how to find a home, access essential public services, healthcare, find work and childcare and education services.