If the most transparent sphere of city councils’ work in 2020 was education, then, for the fourth year in a row, housing policy has been the least transparent. Representatives of local authorities call this sphere one of the most difficult to implement. The level of its implementation in 2020 was only 26.2% out of 100%. In 2017, it was 6%, which means that even in such a difficult direction, positive changes are noticeable.

What interesting things did our analysts find?

Last year, a third of city councils partially or fully met the requirements for publishing data on the waiting list (housing registration) and information on the public commission on housing issues.

The leaders of the rankings showed an example that one should strive for — Mariupol and Lviv. If in 2019 these cities met the requirements at the level of 20-50%, then in 2020 for the first time they fully implemented them. City councils developed a system of electronic registration of housing applications, ensured the publication and completeness of data on residential premises of municipal ownership, published announcements of all meetings of the public commission on housing issues and minutes based on their results.

How was the housing sector assessed in 2020?

Cities could get a maximum of six points for implementing five indicators:

• Is there a system of electronic registration of housing applications and an online waiting list?
• Is information on residential facilities of municipal ownership available on the official website, and is this information updated at least once every six months?
• Are announcements about the upcoming meetings of the public commission on housing issues available on the official website?
• Is the waiting list for renovation and minor repairs of residential buildings available online?
• Are the minutes of meetings of the public commission on housing issues available on the official resource?

Why is further transparency in this sphere important for urban development?

Residents have the right to know who will receive municipal housing and under what conditions, how lists of citizens for settlement are formed, and what objects are included in the list of official accommodation. The lack of minutes and the closed work of public commissions on housing issues do not allow citizens to learn about the agenda in advance and join the decision-making process.