Ukraine: Host helps refugees get own home in UK

When Valeriya, Emad and their two boys needed refuge from Russian missiles, the Groves family were only too pleased to provide sanctuary.

But months on from fleeing the war in Ukraine, the Sloz family wanted to find a place in the UK to call their own - but that is where it got tricky.

Hosts were initially asked to provide refugees a roof for six months but what happens next has left some in limbo.

The only way Valeriya's family got a UK home was their hosts being a guarantor.

"I give them the name of my second family," said Valeriya, who has said the Groves showed them "real love" since they arrived from Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

She, husband Emad and their two sons Milan, 12, and five-year-old Adam were told they were welcome to stay with their hosts in west Wales as long as they liked.

Jane, husband Nick and 16-year-old son Tristan had shown their visitors the stunning seaside near their home in Pembrokeshire, taken them kayaking and also to the zoo.

After five months, Valeriya and her family wanted their own independence and to get their own place.

"Even if you love someone very much or have family, you need to find your own way in life," she told BBC Wales Live.

"It doesn't mean it changes something between us but I can start my way... I need to feel the owner of my life. I like to take responsibility, all of my life I have been independent."

The Sloz family fled Kyiv at the start of the war but stayed just inside the Ukraine border in the hope Russia would stop its assault.

But as the conflict intensified, they left in early March and stayed in Germany for a month.

Valeriya saw the invitation to stay with Jane's family in west Wales on the internet, so wrote to her and the rest is history.

"When we first arrived, feelings were mixed between worries and not understanding what's going on," recalled Valeriya.

"But thanks to Jane, I became calm and impressed with their relationship to us. They were kind, they were trying to save us from worry.

"They covered us with real love. My children had many positive emotions."

Valeriya will never forget how Jane and Nick "protected" her family and even though they didn't want them to leave, she knew it was better that her family try to stand on their own feet in the UK.

But with a large social housing demand in Wales and the fact Ukrainian refugees do not get their housing applications expedited, families leaving their hosts face a challenge.

Of the more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees in the UK, about 30,000 have been here for six months - the period hosts were initially asked to provide shelter.

The BBC has spoken to a number of host families and refugees concerned about how and when permanent accommodation could be arranged.

Many hosts on the UK government's Homes For Ukraine scheme explained how difficult it had been to find suitable housing for their guests and were worried they would not find somewhere to move.

Valeriya has a job as a translator and Emad works as a chef, but finding rental accommodation was still very difficult.

Without a credit rating in the UK the only way they could secure a home in Cardiff - 100 miles (160km) to the east of their host family - was by Jane and Nick acting as guarantors for their rent.

Being a guarantor involves making a legal commitment to pay a tenant's rent if they cannot, so carries significant financial risk.

"For me it is means that they believe in me and gave me a chance to start my independent life in UK," said Valeriya.

Jane said their experience highlighted that it can be "extraordinarily difficult" for Ukrainian refugees to find permanent accommodation.

She believes the fact they could "vouch for Valeriya 100%" encouraged the estate agent, but the "bottom line" was them being able to guarantee their rent.

"I think it's going to be dreadful for all concerned," said Jane.

"I'm not sure why Wales suggested it wanted to be a superhost when we have insufficient housing and insufficient hosts."

Neither host families nor Welsh government-sponsored "welcome centres" are meant to be long-term options, but there are big waiting lists for social housing and private rentals are too expensive for many.

With the war making a return home impossible for many, the future for some Ukrainians here is unclear.

The UK government said more than 100,000 people arrived on the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the "majority" of hosts wanted to continue beyond six months.

"All arrivals have access to benefits and employment from day one and we are working with councils to ensure Ukrainians are receiving the help they need to access housing," a government spokesman said.

"Councils have a duty to ensure families are not left without a roof over their heads and they receive funding per person to cover any additional costs."

About 6,000 Ukrainians have come to Wales, sponsored either by host families or the Welsh government as a "super sponsor."

A further 2,300 visas have also been issued to Ukrainians with a sponsor in Wales.

A survey by the Office for National Statistics suggested about a quarter of hosts planned to leave the scheme after six months and the Welsh government has appealed for more hosts.

The administration in Cardiff Bay said it has spent more than £500m in 2022 on social housing and housing support services.

"We recognise the extreme pressures facing local authority housing teams, not just to accommodate people fleeing the war in Ukraine but all those in housing need," it added.

"We continue to work closely with them and registered social landlords to make more housing available through our £65m transitional accommodation capital programme."

The organisation that represents Wales' 22 local authorities - which are tasked with rehoming Ukrainian refugees - said demand for social hosing was "huge" and no-one got special treatment.

The Welsh Local Government Association leader has said Ukrainian refugees may actually be "at a bit of a disadvantage" because of a lack of local connections which can give people priority.

"We are looking at what the opportunities are in social housing but mainly trying to work with families around making them independent," said chief Andrew Morgan.