How one Ukrainian woman had to apply to 65 housing associations in Scotland to find place to live

The study from the Red Cross, which detailed the experiences of Ukrainian refugees in the UK since the war began, said the woman’s situation was just one in a string of stories of homelessness and exploitation experienced by people entering Britain under the Homes for Ukraine visa.

The report said homelessness figures for Ukrainians across the UK “remain concerning” and warned of sexual exploitation of some women who made informal matches online before arriving in the UK.

The study also warned of a lack of communication between the Scottish Government, which was responsible for refugees arriving in Scotland on the Super Sponsor scheme, and the local authorities which had to find them more long term homes.

However, the report praised the Scottish and Welsh governments for increasing the UK’s capacity for welcoming displaced people. Anna Kulish, chair of housing at volunteer group the Ukrainian Collective, said the woman had had to apply to every existing housing association in Glasgow, where she had been placed, before finding a home.

She said: “One displaced Ukrainian who participated in the research for this report independently applied to all 65 housing associations in her city before being offered suitable accommodation. She is not even 25 years old.”

Refugees arriving in Scotland through the UK government’s Home for Ukraine visa could list the Scottish Government as their sponsor under the Super Sponsor scheme, rather than an individual host. They would initially be placed in “welcome accommodation” such as a hotel or one of two cruise ships repurposed to house refugees, before being found a longer-term place to live.

Around 27,000 displaced people from Ukraine have arrived in the UK with a Scottish sponsor. Of these, just over 20,000 were sponsored by the Scottish Government and the rest by individual hosts.

The report recommended the Scottish and Welsh governments should prioritise helping displaced Ukrainians in welcome accommodation to move into independent housing; ensure remaining welcome arrangements use good-quality accommodation; and review and adapt the super sponsor model to offer other displaced people protection.

Some community organisations interviewed, who had been tasked with carrying out home checks for prospective hosts, reported locks on the outside of doors and cameras set up in a bedroom earmarked for a single Ukrainian woman to live in. Meanwhile, one professional stakeholder spoke of a displaced Ukrainian paying £5,000 for a hosting arrangement that was not real, despite visa applications being free on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

The report said: “The welcome of over 200,000 people from Ukraine should be celebrated for offering so many displaced people quick access to safety. Yet too many have experienced precarious housing and homelessness in the UK.

“As the conflict continues, it is vital that they are supported to access longer-term housing, so that that they can rebuild their lives in the UK. It is also crucial that policymakers apply the good practice and learning from the Ukraine response to welcome other displaced people, no matter where they are from.”

Social Justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville pointed to the Ukraine Longer-Term Resettlement Fund, which will see more than 1,300 social rented homes brought back into use , as well as £30 million allocated to local authorities to support integration, including access to the private rental sector, in communities across Scotland. She said: “We want Scotland to be home for every Ukrainian living here for as long as they need it to be.

“However, we do not want people staying in temporary accommodation longer than necessary and therefore we have provided additional funding to councils to help them work with guests and make offers of settled accommodation.”