British homeowners who offer to take in Ukrainian refugees are being offered a “thank you” payment of £350 a month by the government under an unusual and unprecedented new scheme announced on Sunday.

People with a spare room or an empty property have to commit to taking in refugees for at least six months.

The payment under the government’s “Homes for Ukraine scheme” remains pegged at £350 whether a homeowner takes in a lone refugee or an entire family. It is not meant to be a money-making exercise.

The scheme was announced on Sunday as the UN estimated that Europe is facing its worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, with 2.3m Ukrainians, mostly women and children, having already fled the country, and another 1.9m internally displaced. To provide context, some 10m people fled East Pakistan into India during the Bangladesh civil war of 1971.

The scheme for Ukrainian refugees is being administered by Michael Gove, who is called the secretary of state for “Levelling Up, Housing and Communities” because it is his job to reduce disparities between the poorer north and the relatively prosperous south of England.

The government website stated: “The scheme will match people with sponsors.”

The government is expecting tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees, with home owners invited to register their interest online from Monday.