EU prepares $400 million for pilot project of municipal rental housing in Ukraine: Oleksiy Kuleba

European institutions are ready to provide Ukraine with start-up funding in the amount of 400 million dollars to launch a system of municipal rental housing. About this reported Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine and Minister of Communities and Territories Development.

According to him, negotiations are ongoing with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, which have already confirmed their willingness to finance construction in the first ten pilot communities.

“We are talking about the initial $400 million, which will be directed to the construction of housing in ten pilot regions,” Kuleba explained.

At the same time, according to him, the discussion about where exactly the first step will be implemented is still ongoing. There are two approaches: the Ukrainian side proposes to create housing closer to the regions where the potential tenants come from, i.e. settlers from the frontline and temporarily occupied territories. European partners, in turn, tend to focus the project on communities located closer to the EU borders.

One of the first steps will be a joint initiative of the government and the Mariupol City Council — the construction of a residential quarter for immigrants from Mariupol in Bila Tserkva. The new massif will include two housing options: apartments of the municipal rental fund, which will be transferred for use without the right of ownership, as well as housing on preferential mortgage terms for those who have the opportunity and desire to purchase it.

Kuleba called the project “pilot and experimental” and noted that it will become a model for scaling in the future. The apartments are intended primarily for internally displaced persons, families of fallen servicemen, teachers, doctors and people who lost their homes as a result of the war.

For the implementation of the project in Bila Tserkva, a plot of land with an area of ​​about 11 hectares, which is in communal ownership, has already been allocated. In total, it is planned to build three residential complexes. The cost of housing will depend on regional characteristics and family income. All apartments will be equipped with basic repairs, furniture and household appliances.

It is expected that the cost of renting a one-room apartment will not exceed 5 thousand hryvnias per month. The housing stock will be formed from different types of apartments — from one- to three-room apartments.

The financing of the first stage of the project is carried out from the budget of the Mariupol community, which is currently operating under evacuation. According to Kuleba, this week the government should make a decision that will allow the official start of construction works. The first stages of construction should start by the end of 2025.