Ukraine discusses principles of housing reconstruction and proposes amendments to bill No. 6458
Legislators and developers agree that the bill on the reconstruction of dilapidated buildings should be expanded to cover everything that was destroyed during the war
Legislators, developers and chief architects of cities have begun discussing bill No. 6458 on the comprehensive reconstruction of quarters (microdistricts) of obsolete housing stock and have concluded that it needs to be revised and expanded to cover all housing that was destroyed and/or needs reconstruction. The experts met during a roundtable discussion dedicated to problems and prospects of comprehensive reconstruction of quarters (microdistricts) of obsolete housing stock, organised by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning in cooperation with the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine.
- Currently, Ukraine has the Law No. 525-V on comprehensive teconstruction of quarters (microdistricts) of obsolete housing stock dated 22 December 2006, which is supposed to regulate the reconstruction of obsolete housing stock. However, today this law is not in force, as there are no mechanisms for its implementation enshrined in law. This underscores the importance of working on the bill and adopting it as soon as possible (Olena Shuliak, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning).
- There have already been several attempts to develop such a bill, but later there were difficulties in its implementation, in particular, the issue of resettling residents of dilapidated houses. However, we understand that the reconstruction of Ukraine will be large-scale, and therefore it is necessary to develop clear laws and regulations that will guide it. (Lev Partskhaladze, President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine)
- The proposed version of the bill was developed in late 2020–early 2021 on the basis of the Ministry of Regional Development. Now it is important to adapt it to modern conditions and rebuild the destroyed housing stock in whole neighbourhoods, not individual houses. (Natalia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine)
- Time is always an acute issue here. The people who are the main beneficiaries of this bill should not be held hostage by bureaucratic procedures. Therefore, we must establish interaction between all stakeholders as soon as possible. We continue to work on the introduction of digitalised tools, and we are already simplifying the process in this direction – approving documentation with the cultural heritage protection authorities within the framework of the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector (USESCS). (Oleksandr Novytskyi, Acting Head of the State Architecture and Construction Inspection of Ukraine)
- It is worth paying attention to European countries that have already successfully resolved the issue of reconstruction of outdated housing stock and can be useful for Ukraine in this context. In addition, the reconstruction should be comprehensive and concern not individual houses or neighbourhoods, but entire cities (Andriy Ivko, First Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine)
- Urban communities should receive new modern residential complexes that should become the city's jewels. In addition, the issue of reconstruction is also a matter of safety, as residents of such buildings are in constant danger. The reconstruction of urban neighbourhoods will make them safer and more inclusive for citizens. (Andriy Klochko, MP, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Planning)
- Kyiv already has an approved programme for the comprehensive reconstruction of neighbourhoods, which identifies 284 neighbourhoods to be reconstructed. The issue of judicial settlement of possible conflicts involving residents of such neighbourhoods should also be addressed: consider the possibility of identifying specific courts or even special implementations to consider such disputes. (Borys Rabotnik, Head of the Department of Construction and Housing of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration))
- Any reconstruction begins with the preparation of relevant documentation. He said that state building standards (SBS) and roadmaps for future reconstruction have already been developed, taking into account new realities that will need to be used in future restoration and reconstruction. (Oleksandr Svystunov, Chief Architect of Kyiv)
- It is necessary to abandon the projects of comprehensive reconstruction of neighbourhoods in the wording proposed by the bill, and solve the problem based on a programme of comprehensive reconstruction of neighbourhoods, urban planning documentation at the local level and project documentation for a specific neighbourhood, dividing it, if necessary, into phases and start-up complexes.
The complexity of development should be ensured taking into account the new need for social, engineering, and transport infrastructure facilities. (Anatoliy Berkuta, Vice President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, supported the granting of broad powers to local governments)
- The financial component is also highly important. For instance, 1 square metre of renovated housing in Kharkiv costs between 11,000 UAH and 13,000 UAH, so there is an urgent need to find investors, as reconstruction is currently not profitable for builders. (Oleksandr Harchenko, Vice President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, Head of the regional representative office of the CBU in Kharkiv Oblast, Chairman of the Board of the Regional Construction Association).
- Inter alia, several points of the bill need to be revised:
- requirements for recognising a building as an emergency;
- the procedure for resettlement of residents related to emergency conditions;
- requirements for new housing to be provided to citizens;
- introduction of the concept of "social repair" for the comfort of residents.
In addition, the period for collecting belongings during eviction should be extended to 6 months. (Andriy Bahmet, Deputy Head of the Department – Head of the Property Rights Division of the Department for Monitoring the Observance of Social and Economic Rights of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights).
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