More than 90 Ukrainian households have approached a West London council as homeless due to sponsorship schemes breaking down or otherwise coming to an end in the borough. Richmond has hosted more than 700 Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme but is facing the risk of a spike in homelessness as the placements face challenges.

The scheme allows people living in the UK to sponsor Ukrainian refugees to live with them, if they have suitable accommodation, and was launched by the government on March 14 last year. Richmond had hosted 740 Ukrainian refugees as of February 7.

But the council said it is facing a developing challenge as placements break down or come to a natural end. The authority is looking for more residents able to host guests when they move on from their original sponsors and is encouraging anyone interested to read information on its website.

A report to the council's housing committee on February 9 said: "There is a specific developing challenge relating to the Ukrainian sponsorship schemes, if and/or when community and family sponsorship placements break down or otherwise come to a natural end and homelessness assistance is sought, with this being an unfortunate corollary of the generous response of borough residents in welcoming those in need.

"As commented previously a recent BBC survey suggested that a quarter of community sponsors wished not to or felt unable to continue to accommodate their Ukrainian guests beyond the six-month period originally committed to which presents a significant ongoing risk of a spike in homelessness demand from this source for at least some of the families accommodated, noting that many will have had the opportunity to find work or otherwise seek sources of income.

"At the date of drafting this report over 90 Ukrainian households had approached the council as homeless with 21 provided with temporary accommodation. It should be noted however that the budgetary impact in this financial year is limited as this continues to be fully funded by additional grant support being provided by the government linked to the Homes for Ukraine scheme."

The latest figure reveals a rise in the number of refugees approaching the council as homeless since late 2022. A report to the committee on November 8 revealed more than 60 Ukrainian households had approached the authority as homeless and around 25 given temporary housing.

A Richmond Council spokesperson said: "From the outset, the generosity of Richmond residents provided the opportunity to support a significant number of Ukrainians, with the borough hosting the second highest number of Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in London.

"A wide range of changing circumstances can mean that a host is not able to continue their arrangement past the initial six-month period, including changes in health, accommodation no longer being available or sometimes breakdown in relationships. Ukrainian families have also wanted to move to be closer to family or places of work outside the borough.

"The council has put in place a number of options to support Ukrainians find longer-term accommodation including financial assistance with deposits and rent in advance, or alternative host arrangements."