Homes for Ukraine
The government has provided funding to assist sponsors within the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The amount to be paid is £350 per month per property (not per guest) in arrears for up to a year from the guests’ arrival, so long as the sponsor continues to host under the terms of the scheme. The payment is optional and sponsors must apply to receive payment by completing this application form.
Under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme sponsors are not allowed to charge their guests rent or other charges in connection with living at the property.
The payments are not generally subject to income tax and will not impact on council tax or benefit payments. Please note however that there are certain situations where tax may be chargeable for example in the situation where guests are charged rent on the properties they occupy.
Further information is available at Lancashire County Council's Homes for Ukraine scheme and Support for sponsors pages, and in our Homes for Ukraine factsheet .
How to apply for a Homes for Ukraine thank you payment
This scheme is designed to allow sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine Scheme to claim a £350 per month Thank You payment for hosting guests at a property. A claim form is required only to be submitted at the start of the arrangement, not each month. If one sponsorship ends and a new one commences then a new claim is required.
The property where the guests from Ukraine reside must be within Lancaster City Council district. If the property is not within Lancaster City Council district you should apply to the council in the area in which the property is located.
Once the form is completed the council will undertake a number of checks to validate the claim. If necessary, the council will contact the sponsor to provide additional information. Payment will only be made after the council has undertaken the necessary steps to validate the claim, a satisfactory visit by a local council housing officer has taken place and Lancashire County Council has confirmed the eligibility of the sponsor and guests under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
In some circumstances, the sponsorship scheme may be deemed to be inappropriate and in these cases, funding will end immediately.
There are requirements under the Thank You Payment requiring the sponsor to notify the council of any changes in relation to the claim, such as some or all of the guests leaving the property, etc. Updates should be sent by email to the council at publicprotection@lancaster.gov.uk. Failure to provide the updates in a timely manner may lead to the recovery of any sums paid.
The council reserves the right to recover any sums paid in error for whatever reason under the scheme. Any cases of fraud identified will be treated under the council’s fraud policy and may lead to a criminal conviction.
Once the claim is approved payments will be made each month in arrears on or around the anniversary of the guest arriving at the property. Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County Council will be contacting sponsors and guests at regular intervals. If contact or lack of contact indicates that the sponsorship is not working as intended, payments will be suspended until the matter is resolved. Payments will only be made to a valid UK bank account via BACS transfer.
In addition to the requirements to inform us around changes in details relating to the guest, sponsors must inform us if they move address or their bank details change etc, by email to publicprotection@lancaster.gov.uk.
Last updated: 09 August 2022