How the military can legally move into your home – and what the owner should do
14 October 13:56
Unexpectedly, in the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, MPs became concerned about the housing issue of military personnel and mentioned “military housing duty.” In other words, the forced accommodation of military personnel in civilian housing in frontline areas. What kind of norm is this and who it can apply to, "Komersant Ukrainian" found out
At a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, MP Solomiya Bobrovska proposed to introduce “military housing duty”. According to her, the Ukrainian military is “forced to look for housing on their own,” and the state is allegedly unable to compensate for the costs.
“We can introduce a mechanism of military housing duty. If the state cannot compensate, then let’s think about a mechanism for the forced seizure and rental of housing for military personnel in those towns that are already critical, falling and falling under occupation,” the MP concluded.
Later, she clarified on her Facebook page that the military are still forced to look for and pay for housing in the frontline areas on their own. And this is despite the fact that the law already provides for military housing service.
“It seems that we are turning our own Armed Forces into an army of homeless people. Because when those who defend the country are forced to rent housing at the price of luxury apartments – 20, 50 thousand hryvnias on the front line – it is not just injustice. This is humiliation,” she emphasized.
MP Inna Sovsun supported her colleague, noting that “civilians are a little bit oh…nil”. According to her, the military cannot live in barracks now, as they can be hit, so they have to settle in apartments and houses near the places of combat missions. There are decent people who rent their homes for free. But there are also those who rent at the prices of apartments in the center of Kyiv, although many military personnel do not have high salaries.
“The state can no longer turn a blind eye to the housing problem and shift the burden to the military. But this is a complicated story, and the solution must be comprehensive,” the politician believes.
The MP proposes, firstly, to allocate UAH 200 million in the state budget for 2026 to compensate for the cost of renting housing for military personnel. Secondly, to settle the military in empty houses from which the owners have left, on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law”, which provides for military housing duty for individuals and legal entities. But for some reason, this provision hardly works.
“As for the cases of “magical thinking” when the military are refused to rent housing only because they are military… In my opinion, the Security Service of Ukraine should deal with such stories,” says Sovsun.
What is military housing duty?
In short, military housing duty is the obligation of the population to provide temporary or permanent housing to accommodate military personnel during martial law. The housing can be used for military accommodation in accordance with the law.
The military command, in cooperation with local authorities, may introduce military housing duty. This means that housing – both private and communal – can be temporarily used for accommodation:
- military personnel, law enforcement officers, and even evacuees;
- subdivisions, military units and institutions.
Such accommodation is carried out on the basis of an order of the Ministry of Defense and only in premises suitable for living. If the military are in the combat zone, they can rent housing. In this case, the owner of the housing and the commander of the military unit conclude an agreement, and the state covers the costs.
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If the military has moved into your home without your consent, lawyers advise you to contact the command of the relevant unit and offer to sign a formal lease agreement. In this case, the military unit is obliged to pay for utilities at the expense of the Ministry of Defense budget, and your property rights will be protected by an official agreement.
In 2020, the government proposed to exclude the provision on the housing obligation of the population to provide housing to the military in the event of martial law. The relevant decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, and amendments to the Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” were prepared, which proposed to completely exclude Article 17.
However, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence recommended that the Parliament not repeal this provision. So the issue remained in the air – military service remained formally, but was practically ineffective.
Expensive because of the risks
The military often complain about difficulties with renting housing: it is either too expensive or they refuse to rent at all. Realtors explain that the owners charge high rents because they were forced to leave everything behind and move, and they are not guaranteed either housing or work in the new place – only IDP status and 2,000 hryvnias per adult and 3,000 per child. Moreover, these payments are temporary.
“So we have a vicious circle: IDPs are not given benefits, they are not provided with housing only for “communal” rent, they do not reduce rent – and because of this, they themselves raise prices for the military. Not all of them charge exorbitant prices, of course, but many do, especially when they find out that the military will be living there. In the frontline area where the military are stationed, there is a risk that something will hit the housing and it will be destroyed or damaged. However, the owner cannot yet claim compensation – the mechanism for compensation for damaged or destroyed housing in the area of hostilities or occupation has not yet been developed. That is, where the military live, there are more chances that the house will be damaged. There are cases when even neighbors oppose such tenants,” explains realtor Victoria Sotnyk.
Some military occupy housing illegally
Some of the military take a radical approach – they move into empty houses and apartments without permission. And let’s not hide it: different people move in. There have been cases when after such “settling” only bare walls remained in the house.
Unfortunately, there are many appeals to lawyers from civilians about the fact that military personnel want to occupy their housing and what to do about it. As advised by lawyer Valentyn Serkov, in such cases it is better to act proactively.
Housing can be “bought out”
There is a mechanism for alienation of property. That is, each owner can apply to the military command (local military administration of the region) with a corresponding proposal. Based on the Law of Ukraine “On the Transfer, Compulsory Alienation or Seizure of Property under the Legal Regime of Martial Law or a State of Emergency,” a decision will be made.
“If the state needs your housing under martial law, it can be taken away – this is called expropriation of property. But you must receive compensation. Ideally, the full value of the housing is paid first (before it is taken away). And the amount is calculated based on a special assessment that is carried out before all the documents are drawn up. If they can’t pay it immediately, they can still take the property away, but you will receive compensation later,” notes Valentyn Serkov.
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According to the law, compensation for expropriated property with the subsequent full reimbursement of its value is paid within five subsequent budget periods. If the alienated property is retained after the lifting of martial law and the former owner insists on its return, such return is carried out through a court procedure.
The return of property is carried out on the basis of a lawful court decision, according to which the former owner must return the funds that he previously received in connection with the alienation of property (minus a reasonable fee for the use of this property). After that, he or she may receive the property back or another property in return, if possible.
Author: Alla Dunina
