Ukraine crisis

The current events in Ukraine have shocked and saddened us all and, as an organisation, our thoughts are with the millions of people impacted by this awful conflict.

As a mutual building society, we were founded in 1860 by a group of people who wanted to help each other to have a home for their families to live in. 162 years’ later we are still passionate in our desire to support people to have a safe place to live in that they can call home.

Our business stands with the millions of families whose lives have been torn apart by the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

To support this Principality has donated £20,000 to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which goes directly to humanitarian relief in Ukraine, helping to provide food, water, medicine, warm clothing and shelter to the millions of people whose lives are affected.

To make it easy for our members to donate in our branches, we’ve also set up a fund raising account with all funds going directly to the DEC, and our brilliant colleagues are organising fundraising activities in their branches to support the families of Ukraine.

Important information for mortgage members

As part of our commitment to supporting our communities, any Principality mortgage customers considering opening their homes to Ukraine refugees as part of the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ government scheme, can be reassured that we will make this process as straightforward as possible and we will not place any unnecessary obstacles in your way.

All that we ask of our customers is that those who are accepted as refugee sponsors let us, and your insurance provider, know when this is approved. To make things more straightforward for those taking part, you can simply email our Mortgage Administration mailbox to confirm your involvement and one of our Customer Services team will respond to you directly via email to confirm receipt.

Latest guidance being shared by the UK Government, via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme’s website, also recommends that sponsors set clear expectations with the refugees they are welcoming into their homes. One way of doing this, which we would recommend, is through a ‘model agreement’ that covers matters such as the shared use of common areas of the house, or restrictions on smoking, alcohol use and any necessary noise restrictions.

For ease, you can access the UK Government’s model agreements below:

• If your guests are sharing accommodation with you, for example using guest bedrooms and sharing a kitchen with you, the Excluded Licence Agreement (ODT, 31.6 KB) is most suitable.
• If your guests are living in self-contained accommodation (such as a holiday let) then the Excluded Tenancy Agreement (ODT, 35.9 KB) is most suitable.

As well as this, it is also important that all customers wanting to provide this essential support via the Homes for Ukraine Scheme fully consider their financial position and are confident that they’ll be able to make mortgage payments in full and afford household bills during this period.

Further detail on the essential considerations to make before offering your support to the Homes for Ukraine Scheme can be found on the UK Government’s Homes for Ukraine Scheme’s FAQs webpage.

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