To dump my Ukrainian guests as homeless?

[razzbo]

It's not as evil as it sounds, bear with me. They have been living with me for 6 months and their jobs here have ended. I live in a very rural place, they don't drive and don't speak English. There is basically no chance of them getting other jobs here. The jobs they had here were given out of charity to be honest. They have found new jobs in Scotland - all 3 of them working in the same place, full time, £10 an hour, where there are other Ukrainians. Which I think they are very lucky to get considering they speak no English.

So we looked at finding them somewhere to rent but they looked at the price of rent and said no. They wanted me to find them a new sponsor so they could live for free. I tried my hardest but the council said no, and facebook said no. There are no sponsors. The council said to try the housing associations for a cheap place so I tried them all. Took forever to get answers out of them but the answers were no. They still won't rent privately. Then one of the housing association people suggested I make them homeless so that they get given temporary accommodation. My guests were up for this. I phoned around and found out all the details. 5 separate council employees (both here and in Scotland) said it was an OK idea and that they would be given somewhere to live. The plan was made - I was meant to be taking them next week and leaving them there. I phoned the council in Scotland today to just check the times of the homelessness drop-in and to check whether there was anything else I needed to know. Again, all was fine.

THEN the woman phoned me back to say she'd spoken to her manager who had said that because they are in England now and are registered at my address, they can't be made homeless in Scotland (even though they have jobs there, i.e. a reason to be there). She said that if I took them to the drop-in the council would not accept responsibility for them and would not give them housing and I would actually be making them PROPERLY HOMELESS and they would be sleeping on the street.

I cried on the phone. Basically, the truth is that I have to get rid of them. I can't handle them living in my house any more. I have been so kind and nice to them but it's been too much. They won't leave unless they have jobs to go to as they just want the money. They refuse to rent. I could make them homeless here but I would have to live with them hating me and crying at me (they do this a lot to get their way) while waiting for their new accommodation.

I was so close to being free. If I'd never phoned the council today I could have just taken them to Scotland and left them and been none the wiser about it all. What should I do? If it was you, would you just take them anyway? Surely the council has a duty of care to anyone who turns up saying they are homeless? Surely if you are a homeless human being it doesn't matter which county you last lived in? Also they have a child with them. Surely they will be given somewhere to stay if I take them to the drop-in?

Agree with others, local council it is. If they are not happy to do this then they must privately rent.

Don’t they have a case worker?

People are so naive.
Our tenants are leaving soon and my dsil suggested I let a Ukrainian family have my house.
I just laughed at her.
Ukranian families need proper community interventions to help them with work, housing, education and probably counselling.
The Tories have not provided enough support.

This is absolute entitled MADNESS they have jobs and absolutely no reason whatsoever to need a free home! They are very fortunate to have been given this opportunity to have a stable start and as such have got the jobs lined up, in what world do they now get to live for free forever 😵‍💫 to do what with their 2 full time working incomes?! Just live the absolute life of Riley whilst the rest of us struggle to pay our bills and feed our families! It’s not fair to come to a country who offered you sanctuary and safety and then demand to be better off than their citizens not even equal to!

Just to make this clear.

They are adults who are able to make a decision. They have been told the situation and they need to rent.

You have done as much as you can. They are not your long term responsibility. You have gone out of your way to try and find alternatives.

They need to be independent at some point. You aren't their parent. Let them make their own decision.

If they think they can freeloader, they will find out quickly the reality.

This is not your fault. Be kind to yourself.

did you read the post?. They want to go to Scotland, they have jobs there and other Ukrainians but they don’t want to pay rent!

Are you serious or joking magnificentjk? Because that is an awful thing to say

OP you are a generous person to have hosted your Ukrainian guests for the past six months. I hope they find somewhere suitable to rent.

This is so, so difficult OP. You did a very kind thing and I am sure they are grateful, but I also understand that they must feel very vulnerable and afraid. Renting privately must seem hugely daunting and perhaps they are concerned about not being able to save money to rebuild their lives if/when they can go home.
I think you should explain the situation to them as best you can with the language barrier (unless you have a case worker who can interpret for you?) and let them make their choice.
If they want to take the jobs in Scotland, it sounds like they will have to rent.
If they decide not to take they jobs, I think you should "evict" them and have them present to the local council as homeless.
All the while you are housing them, social services and housing services won't step in to help as they are so stretched for resources.
Good luck OP and good luck to your guests too.

Wouldn't you rather live in safety than fight for your country in a fucking war zone where all sorts of atrocities have been committed. Ffs.

Thanks for the support and advice. It is very much appreciated. Just to make my case obvious for the one person who seems to hate me... I made it very clear to them when I met them that this was a rural area and there would be no transport or jobs. I told it like it is. They were still very very keen to come and said it didn't matter, probably because I was happy to take on 3 adults and a child, which is a lot and not many others would or could. I wanted to help people escape war. I wanted them to be safe and not dead. Perhaps I was naive, but I thought they would be good people (which they are mainly) with the same values as the rest of us, who would want to find their own place and be happy to rent when the time came.

The jobs are in Livingston. Because they speak so little English and just use Google Translate, I could possibly send them in there themselves and tell them not to mention where they have lived before and the staff would be none the wiser that they have come from England. Except that they would remember me crying on the phone and put two and two together.

There's no reason why any local authority needs to house them, it sounds like they'll be earning enough to rent somewhere. If they choose not to, that is not your problem. Just take them to Scotland, if you really feel the need to help them find somewhere to live, drop them at a cheap B&B, and tell them this is where you can stay until you sort out a private rental. I suspect that with the help of their Ukrainian contacts at there work, they'll be able to sort more permanent accomodation pretty quickly when they put their minds to it!

How do you communicate with them if they don't speak English? I can't believe they've been here 6 months and have made no attempt to learn basic English so they can at least pass the time of day with you/function in their job.

If they have jobs lined up they need to accept that they will have to rent somewhere. How can you explain this to them? If they don't take the jobs because they don't want to pay rent you are going to be stuck in this situation indefinitely with them freeloading off you.

Is there someone official who organised them coming here that can tell them what they need to do?

You might get some additional support here. Good luck.

Support thread for those hosting refugees and advice for those thinking about it http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/4552566-support-thread-for-those-hosting-refugees-and-advice-for-those-thinking-about-it

The local council will check where they have come from. They will need their history and documentation.

It sounds like they will be right back on the phone to you to sort it out as well.

The best option for you is definitely to take them to your local council.

Hells bells - stick the boot in why don't you.

Seems like the op was compassionate and tried to help people in need. Life would be good with more people like her. Seems like the people she tried to help are taking advantage - the Gov certainly have.

You are too, in a way.

If you have no solution to offer then leave her alone eh? She is clearly distressed.

OP, sorry to repeat myself, but please call Positive Action in Housing. This is their area of expertise and they will help.

They won't be homeless for long I'm sure. Unfortunately it is market economics. With that income they should be able to get suitable accommodation in Livingston. It is a shock for us all how much rent can be when we leave home. It is good news they will have fellow countrymen to guide them.

@razzbo Drive them up to Scotland and put the responsibility onto someone else- EG Councils.

They are NOT your responsibility, but the Government’s responsibility.
The govt invited them over.
They CAN go back to Ukraine- Not all of it is a war zone!
They want to “ Sponge n’ save” , by the looks if it.

You deserve your freedom.
They can pay their way.
Four non English speakers in your home?

You are a bloody hero!
I couldn’t do it.
You have done more than enough.

I'm not clear on why they couldnt present as homeless in Scotland? In fairness rental prices now are extortionate and the competition is unbelievable to get a property so I can see why they feel renting is not an option if they'd be liable for their full housing costs. There was a 2 bed house in our estate went up recently and it was on for over £700 pcm whereas a few months ago average price was around £450 for this area and estate agent said they had over 60 applicants. That's going to price a lot of people out of private renting and I'd imagine costs in England and parts of Scotland would be even higher. If they presented as homeless in Scotland initially they could take on a private rental afterwards in the understanding they are temporarily housing themselves until social housing is available. But they'd need to present first. Are there any homeless charities in Scotland you could speak to that would help you and them navigate this move I'm sure there's an easier way to go about it than what you've been told so far.

There is a person at the local council in charge of Ukrainians but she said that the English and Scottish councils don't talk to each other (or something to that effect) and her only advice is to make them homeless. She was the one who said I should take them to Scotland and leave them there as homeless so clearly she doesn't know about these other rules.

Basically there is no proper support for me or for them and the government has given really unhelpful advice like 'just give them notice'. But they can't even make a doctor's appointment by themselves - how are they supposed to find a new house? Also having looked on Rightmove, there's not much, and nothing furnished. They can't do anything by themselves (or perhaps won't try) and it's been so hard. We communicate using Google Translate which is OK but not the best.

I doubt anyone hates you - this is an anonymous forum; we don't know you.

I am surprised that the vast amount of advice about hosting people passed you by, and I do think it was more than naive to encourage people to come, when you knew you weren't a suitable host.

I'm disturbed you're thinking along the lines you are, about just sending them off and hoping their lack of English would mean no one would know.

It must be so very hard to have done this, and obviously you're a person who means well and wants to do well ... but I find it very hard not to think you are trying to convince yourself these are people who don't deserve support, rather than admitting to yourself that you didn't think it through.

You need to link in with a homeless charity in Scotland. I know in NI there's crossover with councils in England and charities would be ready to take them on and help them navigate this. You could also try speaking to some sort of immigrants centre who might be able to advise. We have a few charities here who would offer advice, translation services etc but I'm not sure what's in your area. I'd be trying to pass it over to a charity who deal with this all the time because they'll keep you right firstly and will be a support for this family after they move. They can also advocate on their behalf.

You have (more than) done your bit. And for that you deserve our admiration and respect. But as Lester Piggot once said, 'NEVER grab hold of a loose horse, you end up holding onto the fucker forever'. Drive them up to Scotland, and leave them outside the council offices. The Ginger Whinger is forever saying how 'welcoming' to refugees Scotland is. Well, I'm sure she will be true to her word.