еRestoration: opportunities for owners of war-damaged property may be expanded
16 May 08:49
The Verkhovna Rada is discussing the possibility of expanding the functions of the eRestoration housing certificate, which can be used not only for direct compensation. This was reported by Olena Shulyak, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee on the organization of state power, local self-government, regional development and urban planning, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the deputy, the relevant proposals were voiced by citizens and these options are formulated in the draft law No. 11444.
What amendments are pending approval
We are talking about several innovations that were emphasized by citizens.
1. It is proposed to provide for the possibility that the compensation that citizens receive in the form of a housing certificate can be used to repay a loan for the purchase of an apartment.
“Today there is no such possibility in the law. I think it would be very right to provide people with more opportunities to use housing certificates,” emphasized Olena Shulyak.
2. Citizens are also offered to introduce an option that will allow housing located in an uninhabitable area to be considered automatically destroyed. This will make it possible to avoid conducting relevant surveys.
“Of course, the question arises as to what are the criteria for recognizing such a settlement as uninhabitable. We have proposed our own criteria: if, for example, more than 70% of housing is destroyed or damaged, if the infrastructure is damaged, especially the networks, gas supply, and electricity. In such settlements, housing should be automatically considered destroyed,” the MP explained.
3. There is a huge demand from legal entities for local governments to record damages to damaged or destroyed property. Today, the MP noted, not all local governments fulfill such requests in good faith, and at many meetings with business, their representatives raise this issue.
4. Another important request reflected in the draft law No. 11444 is that Ukrainian citizens who buy housing with eRestoration funds should not pay the mandatory state pension insurance fee. The MP explained that people who receive compensation sometimes simply do not have the means to pay the pension fee when purchasing housing, so it is proposed to exempt them from it.
5. According to Olena Shulyak, this is the most anticipated stage of the program, which will be expanded to cover destroyed housing located in the temporarily occupied territories. According to her, this is the most common request from citizens, which is heard constantly – at all public consultations and not only. And this is the most expected decision from the government.
What is known about the eRestoration program?
This is a state program to help owners of damaged and destroyed housing, which was launched on May 10, 2023.
In Ukraine, 100 thousand families have already benefited from the program. The payments enable people to restore damaged homes or buy new ones.
Funds for the program are provided by the World Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank.
What kind of assistance is available
The assistance covers various needs:
– up to UAH 200,000 for current repairs;
– up to 350,000 for major repairs of apartments;
– up to UAH 500,000 for major repairs of houses;
– housing certificate – for the purchase of a new home;
– a cash payment – for the construction of a house on one’s own land.
In total, the committees approved payments for 93,335 applications. Ukrainians have already received assistance totaling UAH 8.9 billion.
Ukrainians are also actively using housing certificates: 17,741 certificates worth UAH 26 billion have already been issued, and 9,645 certificates worth UAH 15.9 billion have been sold.
Another area of the program is compensation for the independent construction of destroyed houses. Ukrainians have already approved 934 applications for a total of UAH 2.3 billion, and the first 300 families have already received funds.
On average, Ukrainians receive about UAH 1.5 million in compensation for destroyed housing.
How the eRestoration program works
In order to receive assistance under the program, a homeowner
– records the damage or destruction of real estate through the Diia app or portal or at the ASC.
– applies for compensation through the Diia app or portal or ASC. To do this, the property must be registered in the State Register of Property Rights.
Then the homeowner waits for a decision of a special commission on the amount of compensation and receives the funds.
Housing most affected by the war
Direct damage to the housing sector is estimated at $60 billion. This is the estimate made by the analytical team of the Kyiv School of Economics.
As of November 2024, 236,000 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed, of which 209,000 were private houses, 27,000 were apartment buildings, and another 600 were dormitories.
Regionally, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Kherson regions suffered the most damage.
