Veterans' housing rental compensation program struggles as landlords avoid official rentals – Kalmykova
Minister of Veterans Affairs Natalia Kalmykova has said that the program for compensating part of the rent for veterans is not very active yet, due to the fact that landlords do not want to rent apartments under official contracts.
"We have several different categories. There are people with disabilities as a result of the war, and for the third year now, thanks to the president, the relevant program has been very active. This year, UAH 3.9 billion has been allocated for the program to provide this category with housing. Last year, there were almost 4,600 families who received certificates, found and purchased housing. Another category is veterans and internally displaced persons. Here, we are working within the framework of housing policy together with the Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction - Minister of Community and Territorial Development to create a model that will be acceptable and accessible for veterans and internally displaced persons," Kalmykova said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency, answering questions about what the current needs are for housing for veterans.
She also noted that the pace of housing provision for people with disabilities meets demand, while for other categories it is not yet, but good decisions in this direction are expected.
When asked how successful the minister thinks the project of compensating for part of the rent for veterans is, Kalmykova noted that there are already veterans who have received this compensation, but there are quite a few of them.
"Very often this is due to the fact that landlords do not want to rent apartments under official contracts... We, as a state, cannot stimulate the gray market. Therefore, our task is to change this through this approach, due to the fact that the state provides funds, and the client, having funds, becomes interesting to the seller," she added, noting that the program is not moving very actively yet.
As reported, in 2025 the Ministry of Veterans Affairs introduced a program under which part of the rent for war veterans who returned from captivity, lost their homes or are forced to temporarily live in other regions will be compensated. The amount of compensation varies from UAH 3,000 to UAH 6,000 depending on the place of rental.
More than 8,400 war veterans and their families received their own housing thanks to the programs of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs from 2020 to 2024.