End of Soviet-era housing waiting lists: Parliament passes new housing policy law
13 January 20:47
The Verkhovna Rada has passed the law “On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy” (No. 12377), which repeals the 1983 Housing Code and effectively overhauls the rules governing the housing sector in Ukraine.
The document was approved by 250 members of parliament, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The law is the result of extensive work: following the first reading, nearly two thousand amendments were submitted, which the relevant committee reviewed for over five months in collaboration with the government, the market, and international experts.
What is known
For decades, Ukraine’s housing system operated according to Soviet logic—with housing waiting lists that often remained stagnant for years. The full-scale war has exposed this problem even more acutely: the number of internally displaced persons, military personnel, and people who have lost their homes has risen.
The adopted law also represents Ukraine’s commitment to the EU under the Ukraine Facility program, meaning it is crucial for the country’s continued financial support.
Who is eligible and what kind of housing they can receive
The law clearly distinguishes between approaches:
Free housing from the state is provided only for four categories:
- military personnel,
- police officers,
- rescue workers,
- orphans.
For everyone else, two new options are being introduced:
- affordable housing — purchase on preferential terms (mortgages, housing cooperatives, leasing);
- social housing — temporary use under social rental terms.
Rent for social housing cannot exceed 30% of a family’s income.
A special focus is on rent-to-own. After 10 years of renting, the housing can be purchased (once in a lifetime).
Funds paid for rent will go into a special fund, which will finance the construction of new social housing.
According to the bill’s authors, this mechanism is widely used in EU countries, the U.S., and the UK and has been recommended by Ukraine’s international partners.
What’s Changing with Service Housing
The law also radically changes the rules for service housing:
- it is provided only temporarily;
- privatization is prohibited;
- residence is permitted only for the duration of employment;
- after termination of employment, the housing must be vacated.
An exception applies to employees who became disabled while performing their official duties.
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 low-interest loans,
- act as guarantors for developers.
Digitalization Instead of “Manual Control”
A key element of the reform will be a unified digital system for housing. It will:
- digitize all housing waiting lists,
- store data on the housing stock,
- display all available support programs.
According to the authors’ plan, this should minimize corruption risks and eliminate “lost paperwork” and manual housing allocation.
The adopted law is a framework law.
Next up:
- a separate law on the social housing fund,
- amendments to the Tax Code,
- a series of subordinate regulations.
Parliament is required to pass some of these as early as next year, as this is a condition for receiving funds from the Ukraine Facility.
