Ukraine: Homelessness fears for refugees as UK hosts face costs crisis

Liudyma Sheleft and son Illia have been living with Miranda Allen in Sheffield since May

Ukrainian refugees could end up homeless because UK families cannot afford to keep accommodating them, one host in South Yorkshire has warned.

Monthly payments for families who have hosted refugees for a year are to rise from £350 to £500 in 2023, ministers said last week.

But that would come too late amid the cost of living crisis, Miranda Allen, a host in Sheffield, has said.

Ms Allen, of Meersbrook, said hosts were in "a very difficult position".

The Homes for Ukraine scheme, which was launched in March, allowed Ukrainians who were fleeing the war with Russia to come to the UK - if a sponsor agreed to provide accommodation for at least six months.

Last week, the government announced an increase in the payments made to sponsors, but the higher amount of £500 will be paid only when the Ukrainian guest has been in the UK for a year.

This means increased payments will not be issued to sponsors until March 2023 at the earliest.

Miranda Allen said the cost of living crisis had put host families in a "terrible position"

Ms Allen, 51, who took a Ukrainian mother and son into her home in Meersbrook in May, said: "The problem is now. People won't be able to host for a year if something doesn't happen now. Now is the crisis."

Some councils, including Leeds and Calderdale, have said they would pay host households an additional £150 to bridge the gap before the government support began.

But many other local authorities, including Sheffield, have not made that pledge.

Ms Allen, who is part of a support network for refugee hosts, told the BBC: "The choice is you either struggle financially or you deal with the horrendous guilt of kicking someone out on the street."

The cleaner and bushcraft instructor said she was able to continue hosting Liudyma Sheleft, 43, and son Illia, 15, who fled Kyiv after Russia's invasion of their country in February.

She said living alongside them had been "amazing" and the pair were now "part of the family" for her and her 10-year-old son.

But she said she knew of other families whose sponsorship arrangements were breaking down as energy and food costs surged.

Ms Allen warned: "People just literally cannot afford to keep doing it because you get the same money whether you're hosting a single person or a family of five.

"We're already seeing people getting made homeless."

The Homes for Ukraine scheme allows Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia to come to the UK

Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, sponsors took in refugees for an initial six months and had no obligation to extend their stay.

Nearly 3,000 of the 100,000 refugees who arrived in the UK under the scheme or family visa schemes had since become homeless, according the latest government figures published this month.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it had allocated £150m funding to councils across the UK to support Ukrainian refugees to move into their own homes and reduce the risk of homelessness.

But many Ukrainians still face a struggle to secure private rental homes without employment or credit history in the UK.

Leeds City Council said it would consider requests to cover bonds or deposits to help refugees find their own homes.

Bradford Council said it was preparing to offer grants to help Ukrainians afford moving into new accommodation.

The council did not have sufficient funds to increase payments to host families, a spokesperson for the authority said.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or send video here.