The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office has achieved the abolition of outdated rules in Odessa, which for many years allowed the illegal transfer of sandy areas of the coast for rent without holding competitions. The Odesa City Council adopted a decision to abolish these rules at the session on November 19, 2025.
According to the report of the UGP, for 18 years the rules adopted by the City Council in 2007 classified beaches as “structures.” This made it possible to transfer them for use without competitions, which created risks of illegal development of the coast and reduced revenues to the city budget.
Modern legislation defines beaches as land plots that can be leased exclusively on a competitive basis. Currently, environmental prosecutors are responding comprehensively to cases of illegal transfer for use of sandy beaches on the Odessa coast, which were registered as “structures”, not as land plots. Such transfers were carried out without holding competitions and without selecting the most economically advantageous offer, which violates the requirements of the Water and Land Codes, as well as the Law of Ukraine “On Land Lease”.
At the moment, the courts are considering about 30 lawsuits aimed at challenging previously concluded beach lease agreements.
The Environmental Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes the need for legal use of Odessa’s beach areas and actively responds to cases of illegal lease of sandy areas as “structures”. Currently, about 30 lawsuits are being considered in the courts to challenge previously concluded beach lease agreements.
The decision of the Odessa City Council to repeal outdated rules allows to restore order in the use of coastal zones and prevent their illegal transfer in the future.
