Birmingham planning to purchase homes for Ukrainian and Afghan citizens

Birmingham City Council is planning to purchase up to 50 homes to provide temporary accommodation for Ukrainian and Afghan citizens.

The Council was invited to apply for funding from the Government’s £500m Local Authority Housing Fund which will enable it to increase its resettlement pledge for between 80-120 people over the next two financial years, subject to funding being granted. If successful, this funding will be used to buy up to 40 family sized homes and 10 larger family properties either for the Homes for Ukraine scheme or Home Office bridging accommodation.

Birmingham has committed to welcoming a total of 300 Afghan citizens under the ARAP resettlement scheme between 2021-2024, of which around 150 have already arrived in the city.

The Homes for Ukraine scheme does not have a specific pledge, but to date around 730 Ukrainian guests have arrived in Birmingham since the war in Ukraine started in February 2022.

The plans are to be discussed by the city council’s Cabinet next week.

Cllr Sharon Thompson, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness, said:

“Buying these homes will help us fulfil that obligation and increase our ability, as a local authority, to help any Ukrainian guests who become homeless following the breakdown of their arrangements under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

“These homes will be used for temporary accommodation and will not give any of the families greater priority under our allocation policy than other homeless families. We are also in the process of building and buying properties on the open markets, especially larger family homes, for those people currently on our waiting list."

Cllr John Cotton, Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities, added:

“Acquiring these properties will help provide an important stepping stone for these families to take then next step into living their lives independently, with some stability, after what must be very traumatic, unsettling times.”