In Ukraine, over 60% of housing was built before 1970 — data from the Verkhovna Rada
This was reported by The Public with reference to Delo.ua and a statement by the chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee, Olena Shulyak.
Most of Ukraine's housing stock was built in the mid-20th century and has a limited service life. According to Olena Shulyak, chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, more than 60% of housing was built before 1970.
In particular, about 40% of the housing stock consists of houses built before 1960, and another 22% were built between 1961 and 1970. At the same time, only about 10% of housing was built between 2001 and 2014.
Shulyak noted that a significant part of the housing, in particular Khrushchev-era buildings, was designed as temporary. The average age of such buildings exceeds 50 years, and during this time only partial capital modernisation has been carried out.
"More than 60% of all housing in Ukraine was inherited from the Soviet Union — this housing has long been unable to fulfil its functions," Shulyak said.
According to her, the full-scale war has further exposed the accumulated problems of the housing stock, in particular the energy vulnerability of buildings, the financial constraints of co-owners and the lack of complete digital information about the housing stock.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is currently preparing a housing reform that provides for the repeal of the current Housing Code and the adoption of draft law No. 12377. The aim of the changes is to create conditions for the construction of modern housing to replace worn-out buildings.
One of the key instruments of the reform will be revolving funds, which will be formed, in particular, through a social rental mechanism. This will allow citizens who are unable to purchase their own housing to rent it at a rate of no more than 25-30% of their family's monthly income.
In addition, the reform provides for the creation of a state register of housing stock, the introduction of a separate legal structure for managing housing assets, the improvement of the management of apartment buildings, and the digitisation of housing information.
The draft law on housing policy reform is currently at the public discussion stage.
