Ukraine house guests

Piebiz

Hi: new to this forum....

I'm watching the very positive response to Ukraine refugees and the offers of hospitality by members of the public in the UK - good to see this empathy and support.

A negative issue has been raised in a group I belong to - which I think is simple, but views would be welcome....

I see this as a case of having a house guest - other posts reference this on this site - which should not have any impact on mortgage or landlord conditions etc.

The £350 government grant is a side issue - covering additional costs, but not constituting anything by way of a contract for occupancy.

Provided there is clearly no tenancy or other agreement compromising the tenure, there should be no issue - would others agree?

Snookie12cat

I would be more concerned about having a stranger I know nothing about in my house with my family and very vague rules around how long they are expected to stay etc.
Seems like the government is hoping to save a lot of money by offer £350 and hoping some altruistic people will take this on. I do hope those that do it does not bite them in the behind. 

Niv

A chap on the radio said he had contacted his insurer regarding taking in Ukrainian house guests and was told by them that he would not be insured for any loss or damage they cause. He didn't name the insurer (or I cannot recall it), but I do not know if this is a one off insurer that has taken this stance or if this may be more commonplace. 

babyblade41

I applaud those who do but it isn't for me .

Far too many problems that I can foresee going forward 

JuzaMum

Niv said:

A chap on the radio said he had contacted his insurer regarding taking in Ukrainian house guests and was told by them that he would not be insured for any loss or damage they cause. He didn't name the insurer (or I cannot recall it), but I do not know if this is a one off insurer that has taken this stance or if this may be more commonplace. 

Would damage caused by UK guests be covered? 

user1977

There's an existing thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6342488/this-350-refugee-thing#latest

sourpuss2021

I would like to do it, but in a few months once the scheme has settled down.  (And perhaps by then the war will have ended).  I have had lodgers for many years.   I would just need to be confident they had the resourcefulness to move somewhere else after a fixed six month period.  So it would have to be one individual who could earn a living or had some savings.

TripleH

I view it as a type of rent a room variant, but haven't read the small print.

It sounds a good idea, but is there the support in place to help them when they arrive?

PTSD is a possible affliction, has that been thought about?

TBagpuss

JuzaMum said:

Niv said:

A chap on the radio said he had contacted his insurer regarding taking in Ukrainian house guests and was told by them that he would not be insured for any loss or damage they cause. He didn't name the insurer (or I cannot recall it), but I do not know if this is a one off insurer that has taken this stance or if this may be more commonplace. 

Would damage caused by UK guests be covered? 

Probably not. It's been a while but I seem to recall that when I had a lodger, my insurance would not have covered any damage caused by the lodger.

steampowered

Plenty of people take in strangers as lodgers. You see posts on MSE all the time encouraging people to take in lodgers to help pay for their mortgage. 

I don't think how taking in a Ukrainian refugee is much different to taking on a lodger. 

babyblade41

TripleH said:

I view it as a type of rent a room variant, but haven't read the small print.

It sounds a good idea, but is there the support in place to help them when they arrive?

PTSD is a possible affliction, has that been thought about?

This hits the nail on the head for me , taking in a lodger and taking in someone who has seen so much horror needs professionals to help them cope .

Thinking that giving them a safe roof over their head is just but a small part of helping them

Most are separated from male relatives who could possibly have devastating news delivered to them and they need people who know how to deal with the aftermath.

When someone is brutally murdered in the UK the family is given a family liaison officer to help them cope .As far as I see it this is no different .

My solution would be to use large buildings/hotels which are no longer trading  or such like and keep as many of them together so they can support each other, who speak the language and understand what hell they are going through 

They will want to return as soon as it is safe to do so , but just putting them up in private homes isn't the best solution IMHO