Is it possible to get an apartment from the state

This article will be useful for those interested in how to get an apartment from the state in Ukraine in 2022.

Conditions for getting an apartment from the state

According to Article 47 of the Constitution of Ukraine, everyone has the right to housing. The state creates conditions so that every citizen can build a home, acquire it as a property or rent it. The state should also provide citizens in need with housing free of charge or at an affordable price. But not everyone has the right to get a free apartment from the state. Here is a list of the terms under which the housing can be got:

1. Orphans or children left without parental care. After leaving school, they can get housing or a room, but under the condition that they do not have their own housing and are not registered anywhere. That is, orphans after the boarding school have the right to get free housing from the state.
2. Seriously ill patients who should live separately from other family members. However, to get an apartment under such conditions, you have to prove the need for separate residence, which is very difficult to do. Anyway, there are not so many diseases that make it impossible to live under one roof with other family members.
3. Residents of dilapidated or uninhabitable houses, including those that pose a threat to life. Sometimes the condition of the houses implies the immediate resettlement of residents to other apartments; under such circumstances, facilities for temporary accommodation can be used first.
4. Individuals who need to improve their living conditions.

The first three categories of citizens not only have the right for free housing, but can also get it without waiting in line. Citizens of the last category should be on the waiting list for housing.

When should I get on the waiting list for housing?

• A citizen has to improve their living conditions, that is, they do not own any residential estate or there is less than 7 square metres per family member in the available real estate.
• The average monthly total family income is less than the subsistence minimum and below the average cost of renting home in the city or other locality where the family lives.
• The citizen belongs to the internally displaced persons, and also has no housing in the government-controlled territory.

Of course, you can get on the housing waiting list only if you document the presence of at least one of the above conditions.

Waiting lists for an apartment

To get social housing, you should first get on a waiting list. You should know that to make a decision on waiting for free housing, the incomes of all family members are taken into account:

• Salary of all family members;
• Unemployment benefits;
• Assistance of retirees and social care;
• Income from own transport;
• Income from the sale of vegetables, fruits and berries from personal plots, kitchen gardens;
• Royalties;
• Alimony;
• Dividends from holding securities;
• Receiving interest on bank deposits;
• Receiving income from renting out property and much more.

Besides, the total value of the property owned by the family is taken into consideration – not only real estate and vehicles, but also land, jewelry, antiques, bank deposits, etc.

Skimming income or property, which, for example, was inherited after the death of a relative, excludes the family from the waiting list. From time to time, officials check the income and property of the waiting family. If false information is found, the place in the list is lost. True, the legislation does not provide for any other punishment. A person can also be excluded if the financial situation of their family has improved, and it is no longer considered poor.

Preferential categories of citizens

If we analyse the issue of getting an apartment from the state, we cannot but mention the preferential categories of citizens who have the right for getting such housing out of turn:

• Wives (husbands) of deceased invalids of the German-Soviet war, as well as wives (husbands) of deceased veterans and combatants, partisans and underground workers recognized as disabled as a result of a general illness, labour injury during their lifetime and for other reasons, who were not remarried;
• Persons rehabilitated in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Repressions of the Communist Totalitarian Regime of 1917-1991”, from among those repressed in the form (forms) of deprivation of freedom (imprisonment) or restriction of freedom, or forced groundless placement of a healthy person in a psychiatric institution on decision of an extrajudicial or other repressive body;
• Disabled people who became disabled as a result of the war;
• War veterans;
• Chernobyl accident victims of categories 1 and 2;
• Orphans and children deprived of parental care;
• Citizens illegally convicted and subsequently rehabilitated, if it is impossible to return the previously occupied dwelling;
• Children with disabilities;
• Citizens whose housing became uninhabitable as a result of a natural disaster;
• Large families with five or more children, or families where a woman gave birth to three or more babies at the same time.

There are also categories of citizens who have a priority right to receive housing from the state. These categories include:

• Combatants;
• Persons with severe chronic diseases;
• Disabled person of groups 1, 2;
• Combatants who were wounded, shell-shocked or maimed while participating in hostilities or in the pursuance of their duties;
• Officers and servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Families of persons who died in the pursuance of their duties;
• Families with children of 1 or 2 disability groups;
• Citizens who have lost their ability to work, as well as other categories of citizens.

What paperwork is required?

Citizens who have the right to social housing should apply to the local department for accounting and distribution of living space with a written application for improving dwelling conditions, with the following documents:

• Certificate of residence, family composition, as well as the total income of all its members for the past year;
• Copies of passports (birth certificates) and identification codes;
• Employment confirmation letters of each family member;
• Information on the cost of housing where the family lives, as well as documents of title;
• Copies of a marriage or divorce certificate;
• The documents giving the right to a benefit: Medical Expert Advisory Committee assessment report, a copy of the combatant certificate, a war invalid, the family of the deceased, a person with a disability or a person injured as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant of categories 1 and 2, etc.

Besides, other documents may be required. A complete list of documents should be obtained in advance from the department of accounting and distribution of living space. All documents are submitted in a paper folder with ties.

What housing is provided?

Citizens are provided with social hostels, apartments and single-family houses. At the same time, such housing remains in state ownership, and citizens live in it under a social lease agreement. That is, they pay nothing for housing, but must maintain it in proper condition and pay utility bills. Besides, they cannot dispose of such housing in any way: sell it, donate it, or rent it out.

What are the reasons for terminating the social housing agreement?

There are several grounds provided by law for terminating such an agreement:

1. A citizen provided with housing has acquired other real estate.
2. The income of the employer has increased during the period of residence and now they exceed the cost of living.
3. The employer provided false information about himself, such as understating income or hiding property.
4. The tenant systematically violated the general rules of residence.
5. The tenant did not comply with the terms of the social housing rental agreement, for example, did not pay utility bills.

State housing programs

Considering the question of how to get an apartment for free, one cannot ignore government programs.

There are several state programs in Ukraine, using which you can move into your own home without having the entire amount to buy it.

In particular, since 1998, “Own House” program has been operating, although it only applies to people living and working in rural areas. Since 2011, “State Youth Housing” program has been operating (a loan from the authorized capital at its own expense), and a program to provide a preferential loan for IDPs and ATO (JFO) participants since 2019.

The most famous and popular program is “Accessible Living”, which has been operating since 2018. According to this program, the state compensates from 30% (those who wait for an apartment) to 50% (internally displaced persons and ATO participants) of the cost of an apartment.

The program can be used by persons registered in the waiting list, who have not had their own living space for three years or the area of their own real estate does not exceed 13.65 sq.m. Another condition is that the average monthly family income per person does not exceed three times the average monthly wage in the respective region.

The state is ready to help with the purchase of an apartment, but not an elite one. Therefore, you can buy housing at the rate of 21 sq.m per family member plus 10.5 sq.m for the whole family.

Accordingly, a family of two can purchase housing up to 52.5 sq.m under this program, and that’s pretty good. There are also restrictions on the cost of housing, depending on the locality.

To participate in each of these programs, you should submit a number of documents. For example, to participate in the “Accessible Living” program, you need: a letter from the developer of the construction site, an application for state support, passports, identification codes and registration certificates, an extract from the State Register of Proprietary Rights to Immovable Property, documents for determining solvency and documents for confirmation of earnings, a copy of a marriage certificate, birth certificate and other documents.