City leaders have been left horrified by the number of Ukrainian refugees in Newcastle who are now at risk of becoming homeless.
Dozens of Ukrainians who fled to Tyneside to escape Russia’s invasion of their war-torn country are being plunged into a housing crisis, councillors have been warned. Newcastle City Council has confirmed that it had already taken 24 homelessness applications from Ukrainians and is bracing for more, as people leave accommodation offered by local families under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
There are fears that well over 100 refugee households from different backgrounds will become homeless in the city over the coming months, with 14 having recently come forward for help in just one day. A report to the local authority’s overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday revealed that there are currently four Ukrainian households living in temporary homeless accommodation, while some have seen their hosting arrangements terminated "abruptly without prior notice".
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The council warned that there are also “increased competing demands” for social housing in Newcastle – with 78 Your Homes Newcastle tenants having to be moved out due to mould.
The report added: “After more than a year, we are understandably seeing an increase in hosting arrangements ending for Ukrainian refugees. To date we have taken 24 homelessness applications from Ukrainian households (seven for Ukrainian Family Scheme households and 17 for Homes for Ukraine).
“The increased demand for accommodation and the increased risk of homelessness coincides with an acceleration of asylum decision making from the Home Office. The impact of which is already being felt with 14 refugee households recently presenting as homeless in one day and a predicted 147 to come in the next few months, through the ‘Streamlined Asylum Process’.”
Rowenna Foggie, the council’s refugee and asylum lead, said the authority was seeking to work with private landlords to help find new homes for Ukrainians – and the local authority could even act as their rent guarantor to secure tenancies. She added: “One of the challenges people face in the private rented market, particularly coming from Ukraine, is being asked for six months rent up front or to have a guarantor. That is a significant barrier we are trying to overcome.”
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, 154 registered hosts in Newcastle have opened their homes to 256 Ukrainians – including 95 children. There are currently 86 hosts accommodating 158 people.
A total of 68 Ukrainian households who came to Newcastle have moved on from their initial arrangements – with 14 returning to Ukraine, three moving elsewhere in the UK, 32 rematching with a new host in the city, 15 securing their own tenancy, and four now being in temporary homeless accommodation.
Liberal Democrat Wendy Taylor said the scale of problems facing refugees was “horrifying”. She added: “24 homeless applications from Ukrainian families, 14 refugee households being homeless in one day – it is just not manageable, is it?
“What is the Government doing to deal with this situation? It seems completely unbearable.”
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