Council Tax advice for Ukrainian refugee hosts
The original Ukraine Discount scheme is no longer applicable unless you are still living in a 'hosted' accommodation where the owner is still receiving a 'Thank-you' payment.
The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme was announced by the Home Office on 18 February 2024 and came into operation on 4 February 2025.
It allows eligible Ukrainian nationals or their family members already in the UK to continue living here for up to a further 18 months. Eligible people will begin moving to UPE visas from late March 2025 as their original visas begin to expire. This will include a cohort of 'Home for Ukraine' (HfU) visa holders who will move to UPE while living in accommodation provided by a HfU host.
The 2025 Regulations ensure that persons moving to a UPE visa (“guests”) do not affect the council tax discount or exemption of a person hosting them in connection with the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Where a host is eligible for a thank you payment under guidance published by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on 24 February 2025 the following will apply:
• the guest is to be disregarded for the purposes of council tax discounts, protecting the hosts’ single person discount (or the 50% discount received by households where all the occupants are already disregarded);
• the bill of guests forming their own household in accommodation provided by the host will be reduced by 50%; and
• the guest will not affect any council tax exemption applying to their accommodation.
Where the guest leaves the sponsorship arrangements, for example moving to their own property, part way through a calendar month, the disregard and protection of exemption applying to them will expire at the end of that month.
The 2025 Regulations do not provide a disregard or protection of exemption in respect of UPE immigration permission holders who do not have a host eligible for a thank you payment.
This includes people
• who entered the UK with a Ukrainian Families, Ukraine Extension Scheme or other visa; or
• who previously held a HfU immigration permission and no longer have a host who is eligible for a thank you payment.
Please call the council on 01283 221000 or email customer.services@southderbyshire.gov.uk