On July 16, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading Bill No. 12377 "On the Basic Principles of Housing Policy", which launches a large-scale housing reform in Ukraine.
This was reported by the MP and head of the “Servant of the People” party Olena Shulyak.
The bill was supported by 232 MPs.
The final approval of this document will bring Ukraine €300 million, as it is one of the indicators of the Ukraine Facility program.
The main goal of the document is to repeal the outdated Housing Code of 1985 and launch housing reform.
What does housing policy reform entail?
The law provides for the launch of a number of affordable financial and credit mechanisms, the relaunch of the housing and construction cooperatives instrument, as well as public-private partnerships. These are the so-called affordable housing operators.
For those citizens whose income does not allow them to purchase their own housing, two temporary rental formats will be introduced: social rental and rental with the right to purchase.
"Both mechanisms have been working effectively in the EU for many years, and we will adapt them to Ukrainian realities as much as possible — so that it really works and meets the need for housing as effectively as possible. In particular, there will be temporary official housing," explained Olena Shulyak.
Who will provide social rental housing?
Housing that can be rented out for social purposes will be provided from state and municipal social housing funds. There are currently no such funds in Ukraine, but there are plans to create them.
"This will be both new housing, which will be built with state funds, and a public-private partnership. But the main thing is that in this way we will finally be able to complete all our long-standing buildings — the result of the activities of unscrupulous developers and not only. The draft law on the social housing fund, where all this will be spelled out, is already being prepared. The next, final, will be the draft law on the management of this fund," Shulyak added.
Shulyak clarified that the new housing policy will begin to be implemented after the adoption of bill No. 12377 in the second reading. At the same time, for its full-fledged start, two more important laws must be adopted — "On the Social Housing Fund" and the bill on the management of this fund. Work has already begun on the first.
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