The Law of Ukraine on Compensation for Damaged and Destroyed Real Estate as a Result of the Military Aggression of the Russian Federation came into force on February 23, 2023. How to get such compensation, whether it is necessary to pay for utility services in a house unsuitable for living, and what to do if the housing is rented? UNN asked lawyer and advisor of Leshchenko & Partners Law Firm Serhiy Zayanchukovsky about this.
Who is entitled to compensation
According to Zayanchukovsky, according to this law, the following have the right to receive compensation:
- owners of damaged or destroyed real estate;
- developers of real estate that was damaged or destroyed;
- owners of special property rights to unfinished housing or persons who have partially paid for its construction;
- persons who invested in construction before the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine "On Guaranteeing Property Rights to Real Estate Objects that will be Built in the Future";
- members of housing cooperatives who have fully bought housing, but have not yet оформлена the ownership right;
- heirs of any of the above persons.
If we are talking about unfinished construction projects, then it is necessary that at the time of damage, load-bearing and external enclosing structures (except for translucent structures and filling of door openings) were erected, for which the right to perform construction work was obtained
At the same time, he noted that associations of co-owners of apartment buildings, managers of apartment buildings, housing and construction (residential) cooperatives that maintain the relevant building can also exercise the right to compensation.
What documents are required to receive compensation
To receive compensation, you need to provide documents confirming the applicant's rights to the destroyed property and photos and videos of the object before and after destruction (if available), the RNOKPP and the applicant's passport.
The specific list of documents depends on the type of destroyed property (apartment in ownership, unfinished construction projects, etc.) and is displayed when submitting an application in electronic form through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services (through "Diya"), or provided when submitting an application in paper form by an employee of the center for the provision of administrative services, a social protection agency or a notary
How is the compensation procedure carried out
Zayanchukovsky explained that after submitting your application, the commission for considering issues related to the provision of compensation for destroyed property takes it to work and collects the necessary additional documents. Next, an inspection of the property or what is left of it is carried out and, based on all this data, a decision is made to grant or refuse compensation.
The term for consideration of the application for compensation for the destroyed real estate object by the Commission for Consideration of Issues on Granting Compensation should not exceed 30 calendar days from the date of submission of the application
However, by the decision of the same commission, the term for consideration of the application may be extended by another 30 calendar days if the destroyed real estate object is located on the territory of a territorial community located in the area of military (combat) operations or is under temporary occupation, encirclement (blockade) in accordance with the list approved by the central executive body that implements state policy on temporarily occupied territories.
What are the terms of such payments
Given the number of destroyed objects, you should not expect to receive compensation quickly. The commission is obliged to consider the application within 30 days, but the law does not specify a clear term within which the compensation must be in the applicant's account
The procedure for providing and determining the amount of financial assistance for destroyed or damaged property must be provided within a month from the date of the decision to grant it, approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. However, according to the lawyer, the wording of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 02.09.2020 No. 767) stipulates that financial assistance to victims who are owners (co-owners), tenants of housing damaged as a result of an emergency or work to eliminate its consequences is paid by regional social protection authorities within five working days from the moment of receipt of budget funds.
Thus, a positive decision of the Commission on consideration of issues regarding the provision of compensation for destroyed real estate objects is a guarantee of receiving funds, but only after the body that will directly make payments itself receives these funds in the manner prescribed by law
What should a tenant do if he rents housing that has been destroyed
If the rented housing has become unsuitable for living, the tenant has the right to demand the return of the deposit paid to the owner of the housing and terminate the lease agreement
He also added that if the rented housing is damaged and needs repair (but remains suitable for living), the tenant can agree with the landlord, if he is interested in continuing the lease, on repairs in a way that is convenient for both parties.
For example, the amount of rent for the following months will be paid by the tenant directly to the contractors for improving the condition of the housing, and the renewal of payments to the landlord will take place after the object of the lease is brought into a state suitable for living
After all, if you have to wait a long time for compensation, the tenant will have to live in a damaged apartment for a long time, and the owner, accordingly, will not be able to rent it to a new tenant in this condition.
Do I need to pay for utilities in destroyed or damaged housing
The lawyer explained that if the housing is unsuitable for living, it is necessary to contact the utility service providers with a statement about the destruction of the housing in order to stop accruing the cost of utility services. In this case, you do not need to pay for utility services from the moment the housing is destroyed.
The absence of such an appeal will lead to the continuation of the automatic accrual of debt for unpaid utility services, and the consumer will have to prove his legal position in court
However, the Verkhovna Rada proposes to restore the accrual of utility payments after the apartment becomes suitable for living again.
If the housing is damaged, but suitable for living and utility services in this house continue to be provided by the relevant companies, the payment for utilities is retained.
Alternative path
You can try to recover funds in court - from the direct perpetrator of the damage. Thus, in 2023, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in which he demanded the recovery of "moral damages from the state of Russia (Russian Federation) in the amount of nine hundred and ninety-nine quadrillion hryvnias". However, he did not provide proper evidence to substantiate such a beautiful figure, at least that was stated in the decision in case No. 686/26564/22, so the claim was dismissed", - says the lawyer.
However, according to him, in the case of another plaintiff in 2024, the arguments were more convincing. So the decision in the case came into force.
The court ruled to recover from the "state of the Russian Federation... in compensation for moral damage caused by armed aggression against Ukraine, funds in the amount of UAH 500,000.00" (case No. 127/14737/24)
There were also several cases in which the court sided with the plaintiffs. For example, in 2025, the Supreme Court as part of the panel of judges of the First Judicial Chamber of the Cassation Civil Court agreed with the decisions of the courts of previous instances and ordered the recovery from the Russian Federation "UAH 2,420,830.92 to compensate for property damage and UAH 100,000.00 to compensate for moral damage caused".
It is clear that the reality of receiving this money is questionable. However, for those who want to get a court decision stating the obligation of a neighboring state to compensate for the damage, this path is also possible
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