Good evening. I don’t know the rules regarding renting to people from Ukraine.
I’ve had a enquiry from a lady from Lithuania and her husband, his son and cousin all from Ukraine.
She says her husband and husbands cousin have settled status (residential card)but his son have PRB card extended until 2026. Has anybody come across this with their tenants as I haven’t before as I’ve only ever rented to people from other EU right countries. Thanks very much
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I would ask to see the tenants right to rent in UK. Be careful with this
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Genuine question please dont think im being funny or racist
Who pays the rent for the Ukrainian family?
Is it givernment paid or do they have to be in work in.UK just curious
They can work and/or claim benefits. They’re refugees and the local authority will be receivng finding to cover that.
You need to ask them for each of their share codes and dates of birth. Then search for share code check right to rent and check the codes’ validity. If you proceed with them, you need to keep a copy of this check so download the pdfs when you do the searches. You’ll also need to check again every year.
Apart from that, it’s a normal tenancy application.
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So as a Universal Credit applicant on HB i Have less chance of renting a property with a benefit paid by the government than someone who has never worked or maybe even been in.this country before has no credit history and may not even be in the country long
And people wonder why people are against refugees
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Other more intelligent people wonder why people with that kind of view are allowed to voice it (at all anywhere) on a forum that is about property related matters and not global political matters.
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i t does not seem right to me that a person can jump the housing queue no matter where they originate from. If I am in a queue for the supermarket checkout and see someone ahead push in whilst we all wait patiently would I be miffed? you bet I would . “Hey mate do you know how to play snooker? Well get to the back of the cue .”
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@Gary sorry I don’t follow, they’re in the queue just like you are. Why do you have “less chance”?
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I have a tenant who is a housing officer tor a LA. In simple terms, there is a list of people wanting places, a long existing list, someone can come along whilst this list has not been fulfilled. be deemed in more need than many already on the list and then get put at the top or near it. Hence the queue jump. This is common practice with the LA
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Is that not how the system should work, though?
It’s similar to triage at the hospital, where individual needs are assessed and those worse off are seen sooner; we don’t begrudge them treatment.
I don’t have any answers, but my heart goes out to those who truly are in greater need.
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Triage is it called ? Still queue jumping … Thing is there will always be more in need and the list gets longer by the day. No wonder Gary is miffed
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Well it’s quite simple. If what you describe in terms of LA priorities is true, all Gary has to do is make himself more destitute in some way.
But the reality is that a Ukrainian on benefits is considered far less appealing than a UK national on benefits by pretty much everyone, let alone landlords.
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Ukrainians on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme were all given 3 year visas & the entitlement to all normal benefits - no more, no less. From next year they will be able to apply for an 18 mth extension.
As mentioned, share codes are available to prove Right to Rent.
These are slightly different to other refugees as the assumption is that they will go home when the war is over plus most (although not all) are women or women & children.
I have seen no evidence of Ukrainians jumping the queue for housing & in many cases it is much harder for them to get private housing because they have no credit history, tend to have lower paid jobs even if they are highly skilled, have no rental history, deposits or guarantors.
For anyone who is feeling aggrieved by any perceived favouritism I would reming you that most of these people have left husbands, fathers, sons, friends etc in Ukraine fighting or being bombed by Russians. Most spoke little or no English when they arrived & have had to adapt to a new language, culture etc. Many never planned to leave Ukraine & have had to do so under dreadful circumstances, so how about a little compassion? Most want nothing more than to go home as soon as possible.
Ukrainians under the Families Scheme or on other visas will have slightly different timelines on their visas, but should all be checkable with share codes.
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I watched 20 Days in Mariupol tonight.
Unbelievable.
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No need to insult people’s intelligence just because you have a different view. It makes you sound parochial.
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Call home office for accurate advice regarding this
They give talks on how to deal with immigration
They are pushing for digital checks in line by landlords to prevent fake documents
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I was told that the council acts as a guarantor for the first 6 months and i think pays the rent. In theory, this should allow the Ukrainian tenant to get a job. It is fairly standard practice to ask overseas tenants for 6 months up front due to not being able to reference them. As for getting a property, they would provably have the same if not worse luck trying to get accepted as a tenant.
Remember you have to do right to rent checks with ALL tenants. If they can show you a valid British passport or birth certificate then that is sufficient. But you still need to check even if someone tells you they are British and they seem British.
With those who are not British there are different rules according to what documents they have or if they have a share code. Not all Ukrainians have at automatic right to rent so seeing their Ukrainian passport is not enough.
Its easiest if they have a share code they can give you as if they have that and give it you along with their date of birth you can check online.
But if they haven’t you need to consult to see what docs you need to check.
You should take a copy (photo with your phone is OK) of all docs AND SAVE THEM and should check ARE THE SAME AS THE ACTUAL PERSON LOOKS LIKE.
You may have to repeat checks after a set period
IF YOU DON’T DO THIS you are breaking the law and can face large fines (up to £3000 per tenant so can quickly get very high if you have more than one person the property )
You need to look at the pages here
Penalties now upto £20k!
which is why a birth cert won’t work as it isn’t a valid form of photo ID.
BTW, before you take those photos, always best to have the applicant sign a data protection form.
Also, I should add that that guidance is littered with ambiguities from the very title onwards. It’s not the “tenant’s” right to rent you should be checking, it’s the applicant’s. IOW, you shouldn’t get as far as them being tenants before you do your check.