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?

I'm hosting Ukrainians and have served a long notice period but have been VERY crystal clear on an end date to both my council and to my guests that On this date, I'll be retrieving my keys. Everything after, is not my responsibility but I will serve you well till then. You HAVE to be quite ruthless with your emotions on this. You will have done a major humanitarian service and that is enough. More than enough. Stop guilt tripping and get practical. FWIW, it's got my guests into an action plan and they will undoubtedly feel strength and pride once they sort themselves out. The onus is on your guests and your council. NOT YOU.

Also, the Ukrainian people here will largely be staying with better off people with spare bedrooms. When they move out the with be moving straight into British levels of poverty that they are probably shocked by. I know my guest is shocked by the poor quality public services here and terrible access to health and dental care. I feel so ashamed of the UK sometimes.

Forgot to add, I'm based in England too. If my guests have not sorted themselves out on the exit date , my husband will drive them to our councils office and leave them there. But I'm confident the council will be in touch before then to sort out temporary accommodation.

Could you book them a room in a youth hostel in Scotland for a week? So that they have time to sort out accomodation before being properly homeless.

You've done your duty by them as a host. Now I would harden my heart and send them on their way, tbh. Prepare for the tears and be ready to say "no".

They can support themselves, from this point on, or seek out additional help as needed. The language barrier may complicate things, but they'll find a way. In any event, it's not up to you to support them with endless free accommodation and hand-holding through every hurdle to come. The adults will have to step up and start taking responsibility for their own group, at some point. Now is as good a time as any.

Do it, you have done your bit. Let the government deal with them.

what area are hey going too ? Just drop them there , I’m sure the council will eventually help them . They are refusing to rent and that’s not your problem , they need to help themselves and they won’t learn until they are in their own

Yes. There's lots of very valid acknowledgment of the culture/knowledge gap between British hosts and Ukrainian guests (relative cost of housing/living etc), and not so much on the gap between, in many cases, the British people with space in their homes to help out in this way, and the British people who understand what housing is like when you're on the bones of your arse.

That renting in the private sector can be prohibitively expensive, especially without a guarantor (and on that point, wtf is up with the recklessly generous chap on fb?! I had to think very hard before standing guarantor for my own sister and her partner!), and with HB/UC paid in arrears. That getting your toe in the door of renting in the social sector is really difficult, even when you are absolutely and legitimately 'homeless'. That the bureaucracy is like treacle to navigate, even when you speak the language.

None of which is very helpful to OP, sorry, and I wish you well as you extricate yourself after doing something extremely generous. Morally you are absolutely within your rights to say you've done your bit now.

Ridiculous comparison and shame on you for making OP feel bad.

They have the option to find themselves somewhere to live and are refusing to help themselves. OP is not social housing or a case worker.

Remove your head from your arse already.

They should not be given a HA home while do many are already on the list.

This is going to cause so much hatred

Few things with this- I'm sure the rate of inflation in Ukraine has made the cost of living pretty sky high at the minute so I can understand why they'd want to send money home to family who they are probably desperately worried about for food, safe accommodation, healthcare etc... that's really common among refugees and can be part of a) guilt they got out and their loved ones are still in danger b) wanting to have the hope of maybe returning home one day or c) wanting to know their loved ones can escape too. Also its their money to spend as they need to/wish especially since they've worked for it and its not taxpayers money. I find it strange you think you know how much money is in a mattress in another country and either way they can't access it here can they? It costs a lot to get out of a country in crisis so it makes sense they'd want to keep that so that family there can flee if they need to since the situation is still so unstable.

Gosh, some of these replies. Talk about focusing on the wrong things. If OP was guilty of naivety/poor planning in hosting 4 foreign strangers from a war zone for 6 months, then I'd say her place in heaven is well secured! I don't know anyone who bothered, and I wonder how many refugees would have been taken at all if every host had to be perfectly equipped for it.

OP, well done for everything you've done so far. It can't continue indefinitely at the expense of your own well-being, and since it doesn't sound like your guests plan on acting, I would take to your local council. You've done an exceptionally generous thing, don't be guilted into feeling you're stuck with it.

Sorry if repeating pp; haven’t time to rtft

call refugees at home. Get good advice from them

Your partner is a bit misinformed, ‘local connection’ is still very much part of homeless legislation/assessments in Scotland, although it is being abolished on 29 November 2022.

Our neighbour has Ukraine refugees staying, over summer they were offerred the use of her parents home for 2 weeks in a seaside village, so they could have a little holiday. They enjoyed this so much that when the parents returned from their holiday, they refused to leave.
They said that their original hosts home was far too small and just decided that they were going to continue living there. They'd even approached the local school about places for their children.

Some people take liberties OP. You have done all you can.

oh my God! What did your neighbours' parents do

Oh FFS. She has given them a home for six months. It was never meant to be a permanent home. They can’t be her responsibility forever, and six months should be plenty. The government needs to handle this. I’d tell them they can’t stay and to make other arrangements.

No good deed goes unpunished!

I dont have any sympathy for you, you took them in and now youre crying about
This is consequences..
And now theyre taking advantage of you because they think youre soft
They might squat in your house now

Very unpopular opinion, but I've never agreed with any of this. I'm sorry you are in this situation but what did you expect?! - it is a massive gamble taking complete strangers into your home. My mum has done the exact same thing and facing the same issue despite the warnings. If they are working then they need to start paying rent, unless they really can't?

Ukraine is VAST.
not all “Refugees” are from a War Zone, which makes up a tiny fragment of the massive Country
Some in UK have come from other countries.

My Ukrainian guest was not in Ukraine when the war started , I was led to believe he was though , until he was here a few weeks

@oakleaffy Yes as someone with Ukrainian roots I'm quite well aware of it's geography (and more). And if you'd read the thread you'd see that it's specifically about Ukrainian refugees.

Sit the fuck down.

Some “Ukrainians” have come to UK from OTHER countries - They came to UK from places they were living.

Odd.
in zero danger.