On May 19 this year, the amendments to the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians came into force, which provide for a compensation to the Latvian residents who accommodate Ukrainian civilians in their homes free of charge.
In view of the fact that the number of Ukrainian civilians initially projected has been exceeded, as well as the accommodation model offered so far is not always the most economically efficient, it is necessary to offer a wider solution to the issue of accommodation and catering.
The Latvian population demonstrates a lot of understanding and care by accommodating in their homes the Ukrainian civilians fleeing the war caused by Russia. At the same time, such assistance also entails additional costs for households, so a solution has been found to provide financial support to the households that accommodate Ukrainian civilians free of charge.
Households or the natural persons representing them may be compensated for the additional costs incurred by accommodating Ukrainian civilians free of charge (providing both accommodation and, as far as possible, hygiene products and nutrition, as well as educational and entertainment or recreational activities and other support measures) for a period of up to 90 days:
- 100 euro/month for the first accommodated person;
- 50 euro/month for each next accommodated person;
- not more than 300 euro/month for persons accommodated in one dwelling or address.
Importantly, the support only applies to the households that are prepared to accommodate them voluntarily and without requesting payment from Ukrainian civilians.
If a household wants to receive the compensation, a natural person – the owner of the housing or his/her authorised person – should submit an application to the local government in the administrative territory of which the housing is situated.
The compensation will be paid for a period of up to 90 days from the date indicated in the application, but no earlier than from 1 May 2022.
At the same time, the state will provide primary assistance – accommodation and food only for those Ukrainian civilians who will not be accommodated by the household that receives or has applied for the household compensation payment.