{"id":30941,"date":"2026-07-10T22:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T19:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/consultations\/yak-zakhystyty-iedyne-zhytlo-zakhysnykiv-i-zakhysnyts-vid-stiahnennia-za-borhy-zrazky-zaiav-ta-skarhy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:12:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:12:48","slug":"yak-zakhystyty-iedyne-zhytlo-zakhysnykiv-i-zakhysnyts-vid-stiahnennia-za-borhy-zrazky-zaiav-ta-skarhy","status":"publish","type":"consultations","link":"https:\/\/ldn.org.ua\/en\/consultations\/yak-zakhystyty-iedyne-zhytlo-zakhysnykiv-i-zakhysnyts-vid-stiahnennia-za-borhy-zrazky-zaiav-ta-skarhy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to protect the sole home of Defenders from enforcement over debts (+ template applications and complaint)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For a serviceperson, losing their only home over debts is not merely a property problem \u2014 it is the risk of being left without basic security at a time when they are defending the state. Serhii Koshel, lawyer at the NGO Hromadska Platforma (Civic Platform)<\/a>, explains in detail what has changed in the legislation for servicepeople in debt and how the law protects military personnel and their families. He also provides practical algorithms and template documents. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Serhii Koshel, lawyer at the NGO “Hromadska Platforma”.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Changes in enforcement proceedings have not only a legal but also a human rights dimension. This is not about a “professional privilege” \u2014 it is about the state’s attempt to preserve a minimum standard of dignified life for those who serve and for their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The right to housing, the right to respect for private and family life, the principle of proportionality of state interference \u2014 these are not abstract formulas. In enforcement proceedings they decide a very concrete question: whether a person’s only home can be taken away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 24 April 2026, additional guarantees have been in force in Ukraine for Defenders in cases where they have a debt being recovered on the basis of an enforcement document. Law No. 4833-IX<\/a> changed the rules and established special protection for servicepeople’s sole home for the duration of martial law and for one year after it is ended or lifted. At the same time, the general debt threshold above which the question of enforcement against a sole home can be raised was increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the main problem lies elsewhere. Many servicepeople and their family members have already heard about the new guarantees, yet often mistakenly believe that they take effect automatically. This is where the greatest risk arises. If no application is submitted to the enforcement officer, if status is not confirmed, and if the enforcement proceedings are not monitored, formal protection may remain nothing more than words on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article we will look at exactly who the law protects, when enforcement against a sole home is prohibited, what the exceptions are, which documents need to be prepared, what a serviceperson’s family should do, and how to act if a state or private enforcement officer ignores the new provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What changed for servicepeople in debt in 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After Law No. 4833-IX entered into force, the rules became tougher for debtors acting in bad faith, but at the same time more protective of servicepeople. This is an important balance. The state has not abolished the obligation to pay debts as such, but it has limited the possibility of taking a serviceperson’s sole home through the ordinary enforcement procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two key changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. The debt threshold for a sole home has been raised for all debtors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Enforcement against a debtor’s sole home and the plot of land on which it is located is now generally not carried out if the amount to be recovered does not exceed 50 minimum wages<\/strong> as set on 1 January of the relevant year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In plain language, this means the following: if the debt does not reach the new threshold, the enforcement officer should not go down the route of selling the sole home. Other recovery instruments must be used first \u2014 funds, other property, the debtor’s income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Separate temporary protection has been introduced for Defenders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the duration of martial law in Ukraine and for one year<\/strong> from the day it is ended or lifted, enforcement is not carried out against the sole home of a debtor who is a serviceperson<\/strong> or against the plot of land on which that home is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this guarantee does not work “of its own accord”. The serviceperson or their representative must notify the enforcement officer that they belong to the protected category, following the established procedure. That is why the new law should be read not as a promise that “your home definitely won’t be taken”, but as an instruction on “how to switch legal protection on properly”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who exactly the law protects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The law protects not every debtor with some connection to the military, but specifically defined categories of servicepeople<\/strong> performing military service on the territory of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protected category includes servicepeople of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n