Experts estimate that during the full-scale war, Ukraine's housing stock suffered USD 58.9 billion in damage. In total, there are more than 250,000 damaged or destroyed facilities.
Ukrainians who have lost their homes or whose real estate has been damaged as a result of Russian military aggression may receive compensation for restoration. For this purpose, the government has approved the necessary terms and procedures and introduced the electronic service eRecovery on Diia. The possibility of applying for compensation through administrative service centers, notaries, and social protection departments has also been introduced.
Compensation will be paid in several stages:
- since May last year, payments have been granted for minor repairs to damaged homes;
- since August 2023, compensation for destroyed housing has been paid, too;
- after January 1, 2024, compensation for self-repair of damaged housing will be paid;
- compensation for major repairs will also be paid starting from UAH 200,000.
Let's take a closer look at the terms of compensation and procedure.
When compensation is granted
Financial aid can be received according to the level of damage caused — for the restoration of housing that has been damaged and can be restored; or for destroyed housing that cannot be restored.
Compensation is paid if the housing:
- has been damaged or destroyed due to hostilities after February 24, 2022;*
- is located in an unoccupied territory where no hostilities are taking place.** Compensation will be available to all citizens later;
- is entitled to restoration, according to the commission's assessment, and can be self-repaired at the time of applying for compensation. Compensation is also paid if a destroyed object is recognized as uninhabitable and has an owner.
Types of housing eligible for compensation: farmsteads, cottages, townhouses; summer cottages and garden houses; apartments; and residential premises (e.g., rooms in dormitories).
Who can receive compensation
Ukrainian citizens of age of majority who are owners of damaged or destroyed property may apply for assistance if the ownership information is entered in the State Register of Real Property Rights.
According to the Law of Compensation, certain categories of persons have a priority right to receive compensation, which will be taken into account when considering applications for compensation and payments.
Among such persons:
- combatants, war veterans, and mobilized persons;
- family members of fallen soldiers;
- people with disabilities of groups I and II caused by war;
- large family
- foster parents, foster caregivers, guardians/custodians; *****
- educators of family-type orphanages;*****
- orphans and children deprived of parental care.*****
Persons who have been sanctioned by the Law on Sanctions, and have had convictions for criminal violation against the national security of Ukraine, as well as their heirs, are NOT entitled to compensation.
How to receive compensation for damaged property
Follow the steps:
- Submit an application about the damaged property on Diia or on diia.gov.ua, or in paper form through the center of administrative services, social protection authority, or notary. To apply online, download the latest version of the mobile app, Diia.
Attention. If an application for compensation is submitted for self-repaired housing, a certificate of commission inspection of the damaged housing, which must be carried out by the commission before the start of repair work, and/or a technical inspection report that includes the extent of damage, is required. The absence of such documents is the basis for refusing to pay compensation for the repairs. Read more about the features of receiving compensation for self-repaired housing here. - Open a special eRecovery account for crediting compensation in one of the banks with which the Ministry of Digital Transformation has concluded a relevant information cooperation agreement****. To do this, visit a partner bank branch and create an account with the help of the institution's employees or do it online via a mobile app of the partner bank.
- Apply for payment through Diia and wait for the commission to review it and determine the amount of financial aid.
Attention. From the date of submission of the application, it will take the commission 30 days to review it if the local authorities have already formed the commission, or from the date of its formation if it has not yet been formed at the time of submission of the application. - After receiving the confirmed application the money will be credited to the eRecovery card.
The procedure is described in more detail here.
The compensation can be used to buy building materials and pay for repair works from the list of stores and companies participating in the program.
How to apply for compensation for destroyed property
The compensation program for destroyed housing will be implemented in two stages: currently, a housing certificate to purchase a new home can be received, and later, you can apply for payments for self-repair.
The formula for calculating the amount of compensation is determined by the Compensation Procedure. The government recently changed its approach to the calculation and limited the compensated area to 150 square meters for apartments and no more than 200 square meters for private houses.
To receive the financial aid:
- Report the destroyed property in the application or on the Diia portal or through a center of administrative services, social protection authority, or notary.
- Apply for payment for the destroyed property.
- Wait for the commission's decision and receive the certificate. You will be notified when the certificate is ready in the app.
The electronic certificate will be automatically sent to the app or the e-mail specified during the application process and saved in the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property. - Submit an application to reserve the funds under the certificate and wait for the reservation confirmation. According to the law, the document must be used within 30 calendar days. If the deadline expires, you will have to re-apply for a reservation.
- Apply to the centers administrative services or a notary to terminate the owning of the destroyed housing.
- Obtain a notarization of the purchase of a home under a housing certificate from a notary. The reserved funds will be transferred to the account of the property seller.
The housing certificate is valid for 5 years from the date of receipt. It can be used to purchase property on the primary or secondary market, as well as to invest in a project under construction.
More information about the procedure for obtaining a certificate can be found on the website of the eRecovery program.
*After the entry into force of the Decree of the Ukrainian President, “The introduction of martial law in Ukraine” dated February 24, 2022 No. 64/2022
**According to the list of territories where military operations are (were) conducted or are temporarily occupied, approved by the Ministry of Reintegration
***The application can be submitted by a person who has the right of ownership of the house
**** The current list of partner banks of the program is available on the website of eRecovery
***** These categories have a priority right only to receive compensation for damaged housing.