The Government recently adopted a resolution approving a housing programme developed by the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development for internally displaced persons from temporarily occupied territories. This is a response to the request of people who were forced to leave their homes due to the temporary Russian occupation.
Applications for participation in the programme will be available in the ‘Dія’ app two months after the resolution is published. Technical improvements to the system are currently underway in accordance with the requirements set out in the resolution.
In the first stage, the programme will be available to IDPs who have the status of combatants or persons with disabilities as a result of the war. The planned funding will provide assistance to approximately 3,700 families. They will receive a housing voucher worth up to UAH 2 million. This is the start of the programme: resources are currently limited, but ongoing work is being done with international partners to attract additional funding.
Initial agreements have been reached with the EBRD, and negotiations with the World Bank are ongoing. The Ministry is consolidating internal and external efforts to strengthen the programme’s resource base.
The International Register of Damage to Ukraine has already begun its work, with payments to be made from future reparations. However, the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development has opened up the possibility of providing assistance to IDPs from the temporarily occupied territories right now, without waiting for full payments under the international register.
Assistance under the new ‘e-Recovery’ component is aimed at purchasing new housing for people whose homes remain in the occupied territories. Under this programme, the condition of the housing is not checked — whether it is damaged or destroyed. There is no need to confirm ownership rights, but information about existing housing in the TOT must be indicated in the application.
The key condition for participation is that the applicant and their family (husband/wife and children) do not have other housing in the territory controlled by Ukraine and have not previously received state housing assistance. Verification will be carried out by the Ministry of Finance through the State Register of Property Rights.
The following will also be verified:
- the presence of IDP status with the previous place of registration in the TOT (verified by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine);
- the status of a combatant (verified by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs);
Thus, the state will only verify facts that affect a person’s right to take advantage of the programme at this time.
For persons whose homes remain in areas of active or potential combat operations, the standard compensation mechanism ‘eRestoration’ applies. A remote survey tool has recently been introduced: commissions can record the fact of destruction using satellite images and UAV materials obtained from the relevant authorities. Photos and videos from owners will also be examined. If necessary, additional reports from the State Emergency Service, the police and eyewitness accounts will be accepted.
If there is sufficient material, a remote survey report will be drawn up and entered into the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property. This will enable the issuance of a housing certificate for the purchase of a new home in a safer region.
Photos or videos of the destroyed home provided by the owners can help the commission establish the fact of destruction of the home, but are not a mandatory element. Citizens should not travel to combat zones and risk their lives to gather such evidence.
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