Grant conditions for scheme funding: Homes for Ukraine
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-15)

Details on the conditions councils must meet to receive scheme grants. Includes how and when funding payments are reconciled, including across council boundaries.

Funding for the Homes for Ukraine grant payments for English councils (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-funding-june-to-august-2022/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-2022-23-local-authority-tariff-payment-grant-determination-no-316350-england) has conditions attached, which are set out in grant determinations (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homes-for-ukraine-funding-june-to-august-2022/homes-for-ukraine-scheme-2022-23-local-authority-tariff-payment-grant-determination-no-316350-england#annex-a-grant-allocations).

Please see the current Grant Determination Letters (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homes-for-ukraine-funding) which set out the grant conditions.

Grant payments to councils are made in arrears, and are subject to confirmation that guests have arrived and all conditions have been met.

Councils must undertake all necessary safeguarding checks in line with the department’s guidance. Relevant inputs, including whether safeguarding checks have been completed, should be entered in to Share Homes for Ukraine (“Share”) as soon as possible.

In addition, it is a condition of funding that councils provide regular data returns in relation to the Homes for Ukraine scheme, as set out in guidance, including on the number of guests in their area.

Importantly, payments will not be made where the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is not satisfied that councils are fully complying with relevant grant conditions, including the timely return of data in line with guidance. It is critical that councils record all necessary information in to Share.

MHCLG will continue to collect data relating to the programme in Share, but councils are also expected to maintain accurate records on the number of guests and sponsorship households in their area.

There are additional conditions for the grants listed below.

Conditions for the thank you grant

Under section 31(5) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government determines that the grant will be paid subject to the following conditions:

1. Payments to sponsors/hosts should only be made in accordance with circumstances set out in Homes for Ukraine GOV.UK guidance. It should not be released until:

a) a visit by the council to the sponsor/host’s property has been completed; and

b) the council has confirmed that the accommodation is suitable, that the guest is well and there are no serious safeguarding or welfare concerns, and that the guest is not in a family relationship with their sponsor/host.

2. A recipient council must ensure thank you payments to eligible sponsors/hosts who request them are made as soon as practicable.

Conditions for the tariff grant

Under section 31(5) of the Local Government Act 2003, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government determines that the grant will be paid subject to the following conditions:

1. A recipient council must use the funding to carry out the activities set out in the Homes for Ukraine GOV.UK guidance, including completing safeguarding and accommodation checks (including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks) on sponsors/hosts and their property as soon as practicable in line with MHCLG guidance.

2. A recipient council must use the funding to support children with a Homes for Ukraine visa who are not travelling with or joining their parent or legal guardian, as set out in the Homes for Ukraine GOV.UK guidance. This includes: confirming the two forms of parental consent required have been provided; carrying out the required safeguarding and accommodation checks (including a sponsor suitability assessment) as soon as practicable in line with MHCLG and any ongoing obligations within private fostering guidance.

3. A recipient council must commission or provide activities that ensure guests and sponsors/hosts are provided with a source of advice and support to assist with registering for mainstream benefits and services, including where necessary specialist public health services and community integration.

4. In two-tier areas, upper-tier councils must agree a plan locally to:

a) make payments to lower-tier councils in relation to all the services which they provide to guests under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, during the full duration of the scheme, including for services such as homelessness assistance for which lower-tier councils are responsible; and

b) make an immediate payment to lower-tier councils in relation to any upfront costs.

5. A recipient council must provide regular data returns in relation to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, as set out in guidance. For example:

a) entering relevant data in Share as soon as possible

b) ensuring that section 151 officers sign off quarterly returns to MHCLG which include: Management Information (MI) data to indicate how many people are moving in or out of the area; the number of thank you payments made to sponsoring households; and confirmation that conditions have been met

Conditions for both grants

Where the amount of grant paid to a council exceeds their actual pressures (based on the number of guests resident in their area), the difference shall be repaid to the Secretary of State. In addition, if MHCLG is made aware that a council is in breach of the grant conditions above, it reserves the right to recover funding.

Reconciliation

MHCLG has conducted a funding reconciliation exercise at the end of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years to ensure that funding was allocated accurately and fairly between local authorities.

In cases where the reconciliation found that a council was over-funded, MHCLG recovered the excess funding. If a council was under-funded, MHCLG provided additional funding. All funding was reconciled in full.

To facilitate this process, we commissioned upper-tier council to provide a data return.

Reconciliation of the tariff is now decentralised. Where guests have moved across council boundaries, councils can reconcile the tariff funding directly with the other council involved in the rematch. The receiving council may choose not to reconcile the tariff.