Renting advice for Ukrainian nationals

Get advice on what you need to do and buy if you're a Ukrainian national renting privately.

The district is very short of affordable accommodation to rent and is a very expensive part of the country.

Rent is significantly lower in other parts of the country and there is more accommodation available. The Homes for Ukraine team can help if you want to rent in another area.

Before you rent a property:

Check you can afford to rent it

Use our affordability check tool to make sure that you can afford to rent.

The Valuation Office Agency rent officers decide Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates used to calculate housing benefit for tenants renting from private landlords.

If you are claiming Universal Credit, the amount you get will go up to cover the rent once you have sent DWP the tenancy agreement and told them you’re moving. The amount also depends on savings, income, and individual circumstances.

There is a maximum amount that Universal Credit will cover for each size property:

Local Housing Allowance rates
Number of bedrooms Amount per week
1 bedroom £155.34
2 bedrooms £205.97
3 bedrooms £253.15
4 bedrooms £302.63

The amounts above are not guaranteed.

You can check how many bedrooms you’re entitled to if you are claiming Universal Credit.

If you choose to have more bedrooms or higher rent than the LHA rates then you need to pay the difference in benefits and rent yourself.

Get a rent deposit

If you are leaving the scheme within the last two months of the agreed hosting period (minimum of six months), the team will help with a rent deposit scheme as long as it is not more than the legal limit of five times the weekly rent and it is an affordable rent.

Please give us at least two weeks notice of any property that is found so it can be checked to see if it meets all the criteria.

Tenancies in the private rented sector are normally for six months to start and can then be extended indefinitely after that. If you leave in the first six months you’ll still have to pay the full rent for those months.

If you want to move after the first six months you need to give the landlord one month's notice - they need to give you two months notice if they want to end the tenancy.

Many landlords are increasing their rents as the cost of mortgages has gone up a lot in the last few months. You will probably be asked to pay more rent when you renew a tenancy because of this.

If your tenancy doesn’t work out then you can apply for help with homelessness. We’ll then see if we can find temporary accommodation for you.

Work out the cost of bills

Your rent is not the only bill you will need to pay. Other essential bills include:

Non-essential bills include:

  • internet
  • mobile phone
  • TV and TV licence
  • car costs

We’ve worked out a rough cost of bills for a rental property. How much you pay depends on the size of the property, how many people live there and lots of other things, so you might pay more or less than the amounts below.

Rough cost of bills
Bill Amount
Council tax £132 to £399 per month over 10 months (excluding any discounts)
Water £11.40 to £21.80 per month over 10 months
Sewerage £16.40 to £28.70 per month over 10 months
Gas

£110 per month for a key metre (before £66 per month cost of living discount)

£110 per month by direct debit (dependent on consumption and supplier)
Electricity

£110 per month for a key metre (before £66 per month cost of living discount)

£110 per month by direct debit (dependent on consumption and supplier)
Travel £102.50 per month for a megarider bus pass per person
Food £400 to £500 per month
Clothes £50
Childcare £140 for 25 hours for under two years old (excluding free 15 hours which will vary with child’s age and nursery fees)
Furniture and appliances These will be one-off costs but you need to budget about £400 for second-hand home basic items (not including carpets and curtains)
Internet £20 per month
TV licence £15.90 per month
Mobile phone

£10 to £15 per month (pay as you go)

Contract £6 to £38 per month
Car insurance, tax and petrol up to £250 per month
Vets Treatment bills and insurance

Get furniture and other essentials

Most rented properties will be unfurnished. There is no help from the Homes for Ukraine scheme to buy furniture.

There are charities that sell items for much lower prices than a shop:

Tell people that you are moving

  • Kent County Council
  • Universal Credit
  • The school if you have children
  • Your doctors and dentists
  • Your gas, water, and electricity companies
  • The DVLA if you drive
  • Your bank
  • GOV.UK if you have a visa or a biometric residence permit
  • Your employer
  • TV licensing