Guest Information - Move-on Options

If you are an Ukrainian guest and your hosting placement is coming to an end, there are various options available:

Stay with your current host

If you wish to stay with your current host, it may be possible to extend the placement for a further six months with the agreement of the host and yourself, which will mean life will carry on as usual. This will be dependent on the host agreeing to an extension but we can speak to your host on your behalf to talk this through.

Find a new host

If you wish to stay in the Homes for Ukraine scheme but your host has decided to end the placement, or you wish to move hosts, we encourage to find your own host. You can do it by contacting any of the organisations on the link below.

Recognised Providers: Organisations who can help guests from Ukraine find sponsors in the UK on GOV.UK. The government has published advice on finding a new host.

If you need help in finding a host, please email us and we will look to see if an alternative sponsor can be sourced based on an existing pool of available sponsors.

Private rented accommodation

If you want to move into your own independent accommodation, you can do this by finding private rented accommodation. You will have a choice if this is a flat or a house and you can look online to see what is available. Properties to rent are found at: Zoopla, Rightmove, Primelocation, OpenRent, and local letting agency websites.

You'll need to understand what your local housing allowance is. To find yours go to the local housing allowance website. If you think you might be entitled to help with your rent, you can use a benefits calculator to work out how much this might be. If you're not claiming any benefits and paying the rent yourself, you'll need to check if you can afford it by using a rent affordability calculator.

You will be required to pay rent in advance and provide a deposit to secure the property.

You can read our guide to private renting here.

There is a lot of guidance online on how to rent in England. One of the most useful guides available is the How to Rent guidebook. This guide is also available in Russian and Ukrainian.

Renting a room as a lodger

This is known as a lodging agreement. This is similar to being a guest as you share parts of the accommodation with the person who owns or rents the property, but you enter into an agreement with them to pay for your room. You can claim benefits to help pay the rent.

If you are single or a couple with no children, renting a room may be an option for you.

You can look for a room to rent in a shared house. Rooms can be found at: Gumtree and Spareroom.

Renting your room from your host

This is where the host becomes a 'resident landlord'. You would agree to pay rent direct to the resident landlord for the room and access to the facilities in the home. It would be the same as renting a room as a lodger but you wouldn't have to move.

Applying to the council's housing register

The housing register is the waiting list managed by the council to allocate available social housing in West Berkshire. Social housing is designed to be affordable accommodation for households who do not have the resources to buy their own homes or rent privately, or who have specialist housing needs, for example a disability or higher support need.

Housing supply is very limited in West Berkshire. You have the option to apply to join the housing register but it's likely you will wait a long time before a suitable property will become available.

Temporary accommodation/homelessness

If your host placement has ended and it's not been possible to extend, re-match or find you accommodation in the rented or private sector, we will place you in temporary accommodation. This could be a self-contained flat or house or, as the final option, hotel accommodation. But this would be on a short-term basis and we cannot guarantee where this accommodation may be located.

If you want more information or to talk through these options, please email us at ukraine@westberks.gov.uk.