This is reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing a comment from the head of the committee on state governance, local self-government, regional development, and urban planning, Olena Shuliak. This information is also provided by Kontrakty.UA.
However, the further expansion of the program and the adoption of the aforementioned bills are expected to take place in 2025.
According to her, in 2024, the parliament initiated a series of legislative activities aimed at reforming housing policy and the reconstruction of Ukraine. This includes the bills "On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy" and "On the Basic Principles of Reconstruction." However, they could not be registered this year.
"Both bills are critically important for Ukraine at this moment. Firstly, reforming the housing sector, which has been operating under the rules of the Soviet Union for decades and has long failed to address the housing issues of Ukrainians. Secondly, the reconstruction of Ukraine. For it to happen effectively, a law is needed that will consider all the challenges of efficient recovery. These two documents have undergone extensive public consultations, during which we received constructive feedback from the public and experts on how to refine them. However, the documents have stalled at the registration stage," Shuliak reported.
She added that significant changes occurred last year with the "eRecovery" program. Specifically, the bill No. 11440 regarding the mechanism for registering ownership rights to real estate without access to the Technical Inventory Bureau (BTI), if the property was not entered into the State Register of Real Rights (DRRP), was adopted. This bill significantly simplifies access to the "eRecovery" program in cases where not only housing has been lost, but also paper documents, and the BTI has been destroyed or is under occupation.
Additionally, the parliament supported bill No. 11028, which will ensure greater fairness for internally displaced persons (IDPs). It provides priority rights to receive compensation for destroyed real estate under the "eRecovery" program for certain categories of IDPs. Furthermore, the "eRecovery" program has integrated opportunities from the preferential mortgage program "eHousing" - the certificate under the compensation program is now allowed to be used as a down payment in the "eHousing" program.
"All of this has positively impacted the effectiveness and results of 'eRecovery'. As of the end of 2024, nearly 80,000 families received compensation for repairs to their homes totaling about 8.5 billion UAH. Approximately 13,000 certificates for the purchase of new homes were issued, of which 5,000 were utilized for 9 billion UAH. Of course, we dreamed that the program would reach at least 1 million Ukrainians within a year, but funding has stalled. I believe it will not be for long," Olena Shuliak is convinced.
However, she stated that last year the program could not be expanded for citizens whose destroyed housing is located in the temporarily occupied territories - a decision on this is still awaited from the government.
Among other tasks carried over to 2025 are changes to the "eHousing" program. Last year, the provision that IDPs seeking to purchase housing with its assistance could only choose properties not older than 3 years was canceled. This significantly limited the options for such citizens, as, for example, new housing is not frequently built in the regions. Therefore, the age restriction for housing has been removed - now displaced persons can buy older properties that are up to 10 years old.
However, this year further changes to the program conditions need to be implemented. In particular, the first payment for IDPs needs to be adjusted from 20% to 15%, as well as the interest rate - from 7% to 3%.
"Throughout the past year, we knocked on all doors to draw attention and change the program conditions so that it finally becomes genuinely accessible for IDP citizens who are most in need of their own housing. Although the government made some changes, they are essentially only symbolic in nature and do not globally address the housing problem of displaced persons," Olena Shuliak shared.
The MP also emphasized that among the plans for this year is to register and at least pass the first reading of the bills "On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy" and "On the Basic Principles of Reconstruction." The first was expected to be registered last summer, but that did not happen. The bill "On the Principles of Reconstruction" remains at the stage of public discussion.
"The Accounting Chamber notes in its report in December 2024 that the important bill for reconstruction has not yet been submitted for government consideration. Additionally, the information ecosystem DREAM for recovery, despite constant recommendations from partners, has not yet become a mandatory system for transparent and accountable reconstruction. Therefore, this is a task for us in 2025," Shuliak concluded.