Housing and war: housing policy in the first year of the full-scale war

by Cedos

Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has been going on for more than a year now. In this period, the population of Ukraine has faced numerous challenges, primarily related to security and military activities. The war has also led to an increase in unemployment and internal displacement, and to significant destruction of infrastructure. In response to the housing crisis, new housing programs were introduced in the past year, and some cities launched projects to build social housing. At the same time, overall approaches to housing policy have remained unchanged, and individual solutions and projects lack a systemic character.

This brief is an overview of some of the main trends and changes in the housing sphere in Ukraine since February 2022. It is based on an analysis of decisions by national and local government bodies as well as on public messages and information by official institutions and non-governmental organizations. We have also used:

• data from the survey about the population’s attitudes towards government programs of social and economic support and about the needs for them which Cedos conducted in October 2022;

• data from the survey in the study of the problems and prospects of government housing policy in Ukraine, collected by Cedos in 2019;

• findings of the research by the International Organization for Migration, data from the State Statistics Service, the National Bank of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Education and Science.

This overview is not exhaustive — in particular, it does not include issues related to apartment building management, urban planning, or land issues which are key for updating the housing policy in Ukraine. This brief pays special attention to housing needs and emphasizes the importance of the development of a housing policy capable of responding to new challenges.

This document has been prepared with support of the International Renaissance Foundation.