After you've applied

As soon as you apply, your details will be shared with your local council.

Do not worry if you do not hear from your council for several months. They will be working to match you with someone.

The matching process may take longer if:

• you're offering fewer than 3 bedrooms
• your guests from Ukraine will be sharing the home you've offered with you or someone else

Your local council will contact you if they have any questions.

Once a match is found

If someone is found who appears to be a good match, your local council, or other matching staff, will contact you. They'll talk with you to check the match can go ahead.

What to expect after you're matched with someone

Each experience of hosting someone from Ukraine is different.

Some of our current hosts have said that you should not expect your guests to:

• fit in with all your home routines – a typical day for someone else, including things like when and what they eat, may be very different to your own
• be able speak or read English – you will not have access to special translation services at home, though free online translation tools, such as Google Translate, may help

The 'thank you' payment

You can get a thank you payment for hosting someone from Ukraine.

If your guest has been in the UK for less than 12 months, you'll get £350 per month.

If your guest has been living in the UK for more than 12 months, you'll get £500 per month.

The payment you'll get is not linked to how long you've been hosting your guest, only how long they've been in the UK.

You cannot claim thank you payments for close family members who move in with you after 1 October 2024. This applies to both:

• new arrivals
• those who were already in the UK but moved in with you after this date

Your local council will check if you and your guest are close family members. It is up to them what information they use to decide this.

How you'll get the £350 payment

Your local council will make the payment to you.

They'll contact you about the payment only after you've been matched with a guest.

You can get the £350 payment each month, for up to 36 months, for each address you're using to host one or more people.

The council will end the payment once you stop being a host.

Mortgage and rent payments

Whether your guest is living with you in your home, or a home you own that would otherwise be empty, you'll need to look after all mortgage or rental payments as normal. Your guests must not be charged rent.

They must also not be:

• providing free or underpaid work, including any domestic services or seasonal agricultural work, in exchange for their stay and/or food
• asked to pay money
• expected to share household chores as part of the hosting arrangement – you can discuss chores with them as a normal part of day-to-day life, and guests will usually want to get involved in helping around the home

Charging rent after your hosting agreement ends

You can only start charging your guest rent after your hosting agreement has ended.

To end your hosting agreement, you must give your local council at least 2 months' notice. This is so your local council can find a new host for your guest.

You cannot give your local council notice that you're ending your hosting agreement unless you've hosted your guest for at least 4 months.

If you do this start accepting rent from your guest, you should make sure that:

• you understand the type of leases your tenant can have
• all the legal requirements imposed on you as a landlord

If your guest becomes a tenant, you will not be able to get the £350 ‘thank you’ payment.

Council tax and household bills

If your guests live with you

Hosting a Ukrainian in the home you live in will not affect your council tax payments in any way. If your guests live with you, you'll need to pay council tax as normal. You’ll also need to pay all household bills as normal.

If your guests live in another home that you own

If your guests live in another home that you own, and they're the only people living there, no council tax will be charged from their date of entry. They'll need to pay all bills except mortgage and factors payments

Non-domestic rates for self-catering or holiday lets

Non-domestic rates will not apply. The home you've offered will be moved to normal council tax payments, but be exempt from these payments.

How your guests will be able to pay for things

You are not expected to pay for food or anything else your guests need. To help with day-day living costs, including food, your guests can apply for things like benefits and crisis grants.

Even though you're not expected to pay for things, you should support your guests to adapt to life in Scotland. This means checking that they have:

• enough food and supplies, such as toiletries
• access to a mobile phone and the internet, so they can stay in touch with family members

Landlord registration

If someone is staying as a guest with you, under the Homes for Ukraine Scotland Super Sponsor Scheme, you do not need to register as a landlord.

Entering into a written agreement with your guest

You might want to suggest an informal, written agreement with your guest, covering basic house rules. This can help make things clear from the outset and stop issues before they occur.

Access to healthcare

Your guest can get emergency NHS treatment and register with a GP practice. Health boards will ensure that your guest has access to these services.

Ending the agreement with your guest

After your guest has been with you for at least 4 months, you can give 2 months' notice at any time that you wish to end the agreement. Your local council will then find a new match for your guest.

Further help and support

You may able to get more support and information from these organisations:

• Services for displaced persons from Ukraine (Ukrainian) – NHS Scotland
• Ukraine: Information and advice – Scottish Refugee Council
• English as an additional language – Education Scotland
• Barnardo's Ukrainian Support Helpline – Barnardo's