One council offering payments to landlords to help Ukrainians find housing

One council offering payments to landlords to help Ukrainians find housing

0:02 AM, 3rd October 2023, About 7 months ago 10

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One district council is offering incentives to landlords to help Ukrainians find privately rented homes.

South Cambridgeshire district council is offering payments of more than £4,000 to landlords to help Ukrainians find affordable accommodation.

The scheme will provide private landlords with an incentive payment for offering a tenancy at either market rent or local housing allowance rates. Larger incentives will be offered for bigger homes and those offered at the housing allowance rates.

Challenging for Ukrainian guests

At a meeting of the district council’s cabinet last week, councillor Bill Handley, lead cabinet member for communities, said: “This council has seen one of the highest number of Homes for Ukraine arrivals for a lower tier authority with over 850 Ukrainian guests coming to the district since the scheme began.

“The first phase of the project has been a tremendous success and is now considered by officers to be business as usual. For the last months though, the focus has been on helping guests to move on to independent accommodation.

He added: “Getting into the private rental sector is expensive and has proved challenging for Ukrainian guests, and in mitigation it is proposed the council consider launching a landlord incentive scheme.

“The proposed scheme is to provide more affordable and sustainable housing options for our Ukrainian guests and it is very similar to one that operates already in Bristol City Council, so it is not a complete new scheme – there is evidence it has worked elsewhere.”

Larger incentives will be offered for bigger homes

In a report, South Cambridgeshire district council says 241 groups of Ukrainian guests have moved on from being hosted.

The district council reports 80 have returned to Ukraine, 36 have moved into social housing and 125 are renting privately. The council says there are still 171 groups who are currently being hosted who will need to transition to more independent accommodation.

Each landlord can receive a maximum of two top-up payments after their initial payment whilst providing their home to the same group.

To retain landlords and their properties on the scheme, if a new family is offered a tenancy after the original family vacates, landlords will qualify for another initial payment, and another two top-up payments.

The council will only incentivise payments for a family for 18 months as they want to promote independence. Larger incentives will be offered for bigger homes and those offered at the housing allowance rates.

The top-up payments range from £1,140 for a one-bedroom property offered for an additional six months at market rent, up to £4,230 for a four-bedroom property offered for a 12 month tenancy at local housing allowance rate.

The local authority said the scheme will be wholly funded from central government grants.


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Comments

Nikki Palmer

12:24 PM, 3rd October 2023, About 7 months ago

Dorset Council were offering a similar incentive but it transpired it depended on who was giving you the information.

One member of staff suggested a one off payment of £1,000, another £2,000, a third suggested it was open to negotiation and subject to completing paperwork and a proposal put to the department spending the money but only if there were other interested parties and the landlord opted to helping the Ukranian family and then a fourth said it was only if the Ukranian family was being made homeless and were unable to stay with the hosts

Let's hope South Cambridgeshire are a little more transparent!

Paul Essex

12:37 PM, 3rd October 2023, About 7 months ago

So many are looking after the 6 months of free cash dried up. It seems unlikely that many would meet the financial tests in this area of extremely expensive housing even with a council bribe

moneymanager

13:01 PM, 3rd October 2023, About 7 months ago

It's a huge laundromat, the Ukrainian government has been a CIA puppet for years, thoroughly undermining the will of the Ukrainian people, there are some THIRTY US funded bio weapons labs with some right on Russia's border (as admitted by Victoria Nuland), and western tax payers have been coerced into send millions up in smoke for no reason, those in charge don't give two hoots about those displaced and Zelensky's mrs managed to spend some fourty thousand euros in ONE SHOP in Paris a few months back; "No Taxation Without Representation" and I've been politically marooned for years, it's time we end this insanity.

Paul

18:28 PM, 3rd October 2023, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Nikki Palmer at 03/10/2023 - 12:24
I put a family into a property I own in Dorchester. I have it writing I will receive £3,000 at the end of 12 months. The property rents at £1,350 pcm. So, after 12 months it’s a great return and they are great tenants.

Nikki Palmer

8:29 AM, 4th October 2023, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul at 03/10/2023 - 18:28
That's great Paul.

I have helped several Ukranian families move into rental property, all long term if required, but the council have been of no help at all.

BCP Council paid the first month's rent and security deposit for one lady who was moving to Dorset Council area and even then I had to complete the same paperwork 3, if not 4 times before the money was released due to change in staff or annual leave.

You have been lucky and I hope they stick to the agreement

Reluctant Landlord

12:12 PM, 4th October 2023, About 7 months ago

anyone got an actual named contact or email address at SCDC please?

Website lacking info....

Mandy Sellick

15:08 PM, 4th October 2023, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul Essex at 03/10/2023 - 12:37
What about incentives to help local families in England who can't find private rental or afford them shouldn't landlords be helping them

Reluctant Landlord

15:39 PM, 4th October 2023, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mandy Sellick at 04/10/2023 - 15:08
all well and good...but...

any tenant is a risk and in the main those on benefits are a higher risk. All unknown backgrounds and ususally no guarantor.

With a Ukranian in front of me and an existing 'home grown' tenant both claiming, then on paper they are the same.

Sorry to sound blunt here but they are not. The reality is that the govenment has put a financial incentive on taking in the Ukranian. (lots or reasons why). People say this is a LL ''incentive'... a LL may view it as simply additional financial insurance. If the tenancy goes wrong then its a bit of money that can be called on that you would not have had access to otherwise.

I think you see things different to the reality here. Its the GOVERNMENTS responsibiltiy to provide social housing. Private landlords give people a choice to rent private properties outside of the social options. We are a private business.

If the government wants us to help fill the gaps in housing provision they are unable to provide then any 'incentives' should be ultimately universal and no specific. Its the government and LA's who dictate how they priortise funding of tenants housing costs and needs according to their specific type/nationality/status/how they entered the UK. A LL has no control over this.

Lisa008

8:42 AM, 7th October 2023, About 7 months ago

I love how this article refers to "Ukrainian guests", and yet the language used to describe anyone else from anywhere else is far less flowery. Bring the same energy I've seen on these posts about "immigration" and "housing pressure" and how this is a "small island". The hypocrisy is astounding.

Reluctant Landlord

17:39 PM, 9th October 2023, About 7 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Lisa008 at 07/10/2023 - 08:42You will find this is exactly how the government describes them. Ukranian guests. The UK offered them sanctuary. They retain their own citizenship and given temporary right to remain. It is 'expected' they will want and will return (yeah right!)
Afghans are referred to as 'Afghan citizens who are eligible for relocation to the UK under the ARAP scheme'. Afforded different rights and benefits and treated the same as British citizens. (they will of course stay on a perm basis and then have even more financial assistance to bring over extended family.)
One rule for one, one rule for another with the total burden of this (plus the existing home grown) all on the existing UK taxpayer.
Hypocracy starts at the top - those below see and feel the actual implications. The reality is clear - its not colour based but general resentment boiling over regarding numbers coming in, when the state is in a downward spiral and unable to cope with its own UK home demand for care, schooling, housing etc...

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