The displaced man started the process of compensation for the house destroyed by the war

Publication date: May 11, 2023

Compensation for destroyed or war-damaged property* is a fairly common question that people from all over Ukraine turn to the lawyers of the Legal Development Network. One of these cases is from the NGO “Public Legal Aid Service”. Also, in the material, the lawyer reminds us about the basic points of the compensation process.

Ihor** has the status of an internally displaced person. He moved to Odesa in June 2022, since an enemy rocket destroyed his private house in his native Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk oblast. The man did not know how the process of compensation for destroyed property works, so he turned to the employees of the “Public Legal Aid Service” for clarification.

Oleksii Kormiletskyi, the organization’s lawyer, explained that compensation can be obtained in several ways:

• money (they will go to the recipient’s current account — with a special mode of use for these purposes),
• in the form of a contribution to the financing of the construction of a new home, 
• as financing works to restore damaged property.

As for the amount of compensation, there are no specific amounts or percentages yet.

• The amount of compensation will depend on the value of the home and the extent of its damage. If you mean compensation in the form of housing construction financing, then you can expect only compensation within the area of the destroyed real estate. At the same time, the maximum size of the area is limited to 150 m2. Those who lost a larger housing area and want to rebuild it within the same limits will have to pay extra for square meters above the norm, the lawyer explains.

There is also an opportunity to refuse the apartment or other housing that will be offered as part of the compensation, and to choose housing independently.

There are two ways to apply for compensation for a destroyed home:

• online through Diia (in the app or on the website),
• in person – through the Center for the provision of administrative services.

Together with a lawyer, Ihor filled out a special form in the Diia app and added data about the object, photo/video of the damage, and contacts. Therefore, the process of compensation for his destroyed house began.

The material was created within the framework of the “Regional Coordinators” Initiative. The initiative is launched with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

*Also read:

How to get compensation for damaged or destroyed housing (in Ukrainian)

**Name has been changed for ethical reasons.

Illustrative photo for the article: vechirniy.kyiv.ua

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