Creation of social housing

The program is designed for the period 2026-2035 and provides for the creation of a social housing system in Ukraine through the implementation of local investment projects for construction, reconstruction, and major repairs initiated by local governments (hereinafter referred to as local governments), military administrations of settlements formed within the territories of territorial communities, the heads of which exercise the powers of the heads of local governments of the relevant settlement, and regional state (military) administrations. 

The total target number of equipped apartments planned to be created within the program is 50,000 units, which will allow restoring or ensuring access to housing for about 130,000 women and men, children, including their vulnerable categories.

The implementation of the program will contribute to overcoming the consequences of large-scale internal migration caused by full-scale armed aggression, and will also lay the foundation for the modernization of state housing policy in accordance with the standards of the European Union countries.

Target groups of recipients of social housing:

• Internally displaced persons (IDPs);
• Medical workers of healthcare institutions;
• Pedagogical, scientific-pedagogical and scientific workers;Employees of housing and communal services enterprises;
• Social workers;Servicemen and war veterans;
• Members families of deceased Defenders of Ukraine; orphans and children deprived of parental care, after completing their stay in relevant institutions.

The list of groups of recipients of social housing is not exhaustive and will be improved with the gradual implementation of mechanisms for differentiating housing support by household income, in accordance with the principles of social justice and international practice.

The implementation of the Program is based on the principles of gradualism, transparency, economic efficiency and sustainability and is based on five fundamental principles that form the regulatory and institutional framework of the new state housing policy:

1. Inalienability of social housing:  Housing created within the framework of the Program is not subject to privatization, which ensures its long-term use as a public resource for the benefit of the community.
2. Creation of social housing management companies (affordable housing operators): it is envisaged to form a network of enterprises or institutions that will perform the functions of operators: social housing management, accounting, maintenance, selection of tenants and provision of services to the population.
3. Combination of various financial instruments: financing the implementation of the program involves the integration of funds from state and local budgets, preferential loans from international financial organizations, non-repayable technical assistance (grants), private sector investments, as well as public-private partnership mechanisms. This approach ensures flexibility, sustainability and optimization of the budget burden.
4. Transparency of housing provision procedures: clear rules for accounting, prioritization and settlement of persons entitled to social housing are being introduced. All procedures are accompanied by digital accounting, monitoring and must be unified throughout the country.
5. Socially balanced rental policy: the rental rate is determined as economically justified, but lower than the market rate, with the possibility of further subsidizing or compensating part of the cost for individual population groups in accordance with current legislation.

The program is implemented in three phases:

• Phase 1: Pilot (2026-2028): provides for the implementation of pilot projects in selected communities (6,620 apartments).
• Phase 2: Scaling (2029-2031): provides for the expansion of the geography of projects with the construction of at least 14,000 apartments, the use of typical social housing management configurations, the deployment of subsidy mechanisms and the improvement of infrastructure integration (transport, medicine, education).
• Phase 3: Institutionalization (2032-2035): involves the creation of full-fledged social housing (approximately 29,380 units), the integration of social housing into the state policy system, the formation of mechanisms for housing mobility, personnel placement and support for the population in regions with high demographic risks.

All housing facilities to be created within the framework of the Program must meet high requirements for quality and sustainable development. These include:

• compliance with energy efficiency standards in accordance with current legislation and European standards;
• barrier-free and inclusiveness: taking into account the needs of people with disabilities, low-mobility groups, women with children, and the elderly;
• climate resilience: adaptation to climate change and environmental safety of materials and technologies.

To ensure coordination and quality of the Program's implementation, it is planned to create a single institutional and regulatory architecture, which will include: centralized coordination by the authorized state authority, methodological and technical assistance from international partners; development of standardized management models and use of unified digital tools.