'Affordable Rental Housing: A Model for Ukraine'
Pictured left to right: Grzegorz Gaida - EIB; Igor Korchovyi- Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine; Nikolai Matchuk- State Fund for support of Youth Housing; Lonenz Gesner -KFW; Natalia Kozlovska - Deputy Minister of Infrastructure; Serhii Komnatnyi, UNECE Consultant; Cristoph Iseman -KFW.
Vienna, 25 January 2024
From January 23 to 26, Ukrainian government officials and representatives from international financial institutions and UN agencies addressed the urgent need for Ukraine to establish a framework of affordable rental housing, following large-scale destruction of the housing stock and a growing population of internally displaced persons. This was possible thanks to the International Organization for Migration and the European Investment Bank, who organized a conference in Vienna titled 'Affordable Rental Housing: A Model for Ukraine'.
In her speech, Ms. Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, noted that the current need for housing in Ukraine is unprecedented. Since the existing legislative framework is not capable of supporting the development of a system for affordable rental housing, attracting investment in this sector is a priority alongside developing a new housing legislation.
An essential first step towards this goal was initiated by the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, through the draft Law of Ukraine 'On the Fundamental Principles of Housing Policy'. Developed with the support of various international organizations and global experts, the draft Law lays out the directions, strategic goals, and mechanisms of Ukraine's new state housing policy. It incorporates the main principles set out in international regulatory acts, offering mechanisms of state support to citizens from different social strata with housing issues. In particular, the Law will ensure that all processes to implement housing policy are based on the principles of openness and transparency, and the Ukrainian Parliament is set to review it this year.
Under the UN4Ukrainian Cities project, UNECE project experts have supported the formulation of the draft Law by highlighting the importance of embedding the core principles of the UN Charter on Sustainable Housing into Ukraine's housing policy legislation. These principles include environmental protection, economic effectiveness, social inclusion and participation, and cultural adequacy.
The UN4Ukrainian Cities project is implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH. The project consists of five distinct components. Component 1: The UN4UkrainianCities project includes support for revisions of relevant laws and regulations related to housing and urban development.