Question about housing benefits and UC

[Housingquestion]

Hi - I’m looking for some advice please. I have a Ukrainian lady and her daughter living with me and they are keen to get their own place now - been 6 months - thing is I don’t know much about how this works to be able to advise them.

so at the moment she is barely earning because her English is still work in progress and despite trying really hard has not managed to get any work, she will get there but at the moment has been told own much additional benefits she would get for housing based on the post code of her daughters school.

my questions;
how do you organise the time between finding a place and actually getting the benefits processed to ensure you don’t lose the place and also have guarantee that you can afford it

secondly how do you find somewhere, I assume a lot of landlords won’t take benefits for payments? What is I was a guarantor on their rent - would that help? I trust this lady, she is really hard working and is desperate for work so I am not worried about the risk.

thanks

I don't have any direct advice but here's a discussion on this from the landlord's perspective:

forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/residential-letting-questions/1215238-agreement-with-ukraine-tenants

You can’t add housing costs to a UC claim without a tenancy in place.

you can apply for discretionary housing costs through your local council towards first months rent and deposit. This is on a case by case basis

Unless you are willing to pay all of her rent and possibly any damage as a guarantor Do Not Do This - DO NOT GUARANTEE HER RENT

You could be liable for the rent for every single month she dosent pay it

if she goes back to the Ukraine and breaks the contract - your down to pay it till it ends

you don’t know this person if she’s only been with you six months

just don’t

Speak to her benefits adviser or the designated person at the council. Agree you should be wary of becoming a guarantor.

I’m willing to take the risk as guarantor - understand what the risk is but they have nothing to go back to in Ukraine, their home has been bombed so that’s not an option. They are trying to build a life here but need to help them navigate the system

Many local councils have guarantor schema in place now. Have you asked the questions that you are posing here of your (their) council case worker?

I am guarantor for my son's university rent. I would not recommend doing that for anyone but your own child.