The end of Soviet apartment queues: Parliament passes new housing policy law
13 January 20:47
The Verkhovna Rada adopted the law “On the Fundamentals of Housing Policy” (No. 12377), which repeals the 1983 Housing Code and effectively resets the rules for the housing sector in Ukraine.
The document was voted for by 250 MPs, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The law is the result of lengthy work: after the first reading, nearly two thousand amendments were submitted, which the relevant committee worked on for more than five months together with the government, the market, and international experts.
What is known
For decades, Ukraine’s housing system operated according to Soviet logic, with apartment waiting lists that often remained unchanged for years. The full-scale war has exacerbated this problem: the number of internally displaced persons, military personnel, and people who have lost their homes has increased.
The adopted law is also Ukraine’s commitment to the EU under the Ukraine Facility program, which means it is also important for the country’s future financial support.
Who will be eligible for housing and what kind
The law clearly distinguishes between different approaches:
Free housing from the state is provided only for four categories:
- military personnel,
- police officers,
- rescue workers,
- orphans.
For everyone else, two new forms are being introduced:
- affordable housing — purchase on preferential terms (mortgage, cooperatives, leasing);
- social housing — temporary use on social rental terms.
The rent for social housing cannot exceed 30% of the family’s income.
New instruments: rent with the right to purchase
A separate emphasis is on rent-to-own. After 10 years of renting, the housing can be registered as property (once in a lifetime).
The money paid for rent will go to a special fund, which will finance the construction of new social housing.
According to the authors of the law, this mechanism is widely used in the EU, the US, and the UK and has been recommended by Ukraine’s international partners.
What is changing with service housing
The law also radically changes the rules for service housing:
- it is provided only on a temporary basis;
- privatization is prohibited;
- residence is only possible for the duration of employment;
- after dismissal, the housing must be vacated.
The exception is employees who became disabled while performing their official duties.
The role of communities and businesses
Communities will be the owners of social housing.
There will be two types of operators:
- social housing operators (municipal, non-profit);
- affordable housing operators (business).
To make housing more affordable, communities will be able to:
- allocate land free of charge,
- provide cheap loans,
- act as guarantors for developers.
Digitalization instead of “manual control”
A key element of the reform will be a unified digital system in the housing sector. It will:
- digitize all apartment waiting lists,
- store data on the housing stock,
- show all available support programs.
According to the authors, this should minimize corruption risks and eliminate “lost papers” and manual distribution of housing.
The adopted law is a framework law.
Ahead:
- a separate law on the social housing fund,
- amendments to the Tax Code,
- a series of subordinate acts.
The parliament is required to adopt some of them as early as next year, as this is a condition for receiving funds from the Ukraine Facility.
