By Olha Chepil | 2025-12-04

After almost four years of bombardment, Ukraine is running out of places for its people to live. A new UN assessment warns that one in ten homes nationwide is now uninhabitable -- a scale of destruction not seen in decades -- leaving millions scrambling for shelter in a market that can no longer absorb them.

According to the report, Russia's full-scale invasion has damaged or destroyed more than 236,000 buildings, rendering about 2.5 million housing units unavailable. Roughly 60% of those units are officially deemed unsafe for habitation. With municipal housing essentially exhausted, an underregulated private rental market has become increasingly out of reach for people fleeing the fighting.

The UN notes that the crisis extends beyond the physical loss of homes.

"This situation is exacerbated by a limited municipal housing stock, the informality and under-regulation of the private rental market -- increasing entry barriers and eviction risks -- and large-scale displacement. The latter continues to put significant pressure on the rental sector," UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in November.

Price of destruction

Numbers are only part of the reality. According to Oleksandr Chupak, head of economic programs at the Ukrainian Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank, there are many displaced people who need housing they simply cannot afford.

"People's lives are changing completely: they are losing their jobs and property. It's especially difficult for those leaving active combat zones or occupied areas," Chupak told Kontur.

"They just don't have the resources, and the state cannot provide them with the money for housing."

Rising rent prices in cities where migrants are arriving en masse have accelerated the crisis. In western Ukraine, rental prices have increased at double-digit rates. Even in Kyiv, with its larger supply, many cannot afford housing.

"If you look at Kyiv, there is plenty of housing for rent, but prices have risen significantly due to increased demand," noted Chupak.

According to the IOM report, two-thirds of internally displaced persons struggle to make rent payments, with many forced to pay 50% of their income or more. The average income of a migrant family is about 16,000 hryvnias (about $380), which is barely enough to cover basic expenses. Government support programs, including preferential loans, are only partially effective.

"If someone loses their property and job, then no matter what interest rate is offered, they still won't be able to make regular payments - even if the rate is zero," said Chupak.

Temporary becomes permanent

According to UN estimates, about 10.6 million Ukrainians - almost a quarter of the pre-war population - have been forced to flee their homes.

Most have left the country, but 3.7 million remain in Ukraine. Two-thirds of them have difficulty paying rent. This is also evident among those who have been living in modular towns for several years -- a temporary solution that is increasingly becoming a long-term one without alternatives.

One such place is Lastivka, a modular town in Irpin, Kyiv Region, built with the support of Poland and Finland. It consists of compact, furnished modular houses for people who have lost their homes: large families, military personnel and displaced persons. Those with nowhere to return also live here.

"We're from Bakhmut... Our place got hit twice. We have no home at all and nowhere to return to," Zarina Maokovskaya, a mother of three, told Kontur.

Her family received housing in the modular town for five years. But this was involuntary, as they cannot afford to rent an apartment.

"We looked at renting, but there was no chance. My husband works. Today there's work, tomorrow there's not, and I stay with the children," said Maokovskaya.

Before moving in, the family had rented an apartment for a year through an agency. The rent included utilities, electricity and fees.

"We paid 7-8 thousand [$165-190]. Everything went towards rent - my husband's salary as well as the child benefits I received," said Maokovskaya.

Now they live in a small, cramped room where the three children get ready for school at six in the morning, waking the whole house.

Vlada Sevastyanova, a displaced person from Bilitske in the Donetsk Region, came to Irpin after her hometown was completely destroyed.

"We lost everything... Mum had an apartment, Dad had two houses," Sevastyanova, who resides in the Lastivka modular town, told Kontur.

The family rented an apartment for a year, but with a child, a disabled grandfather and no stable income, it quickly became unaffordable.

"We rented for 15,000 [$355] plus utilities. In winter, it came out to about 20,000 [$475]. For me, an unemployed person, this is a huge amount," said Sevastyanova.

With increased attacks and the difficult situation at the front, more people were displaced, and prices began to rise again.

"Prices keep going up and up... Now people are even leaving Pavlohrad. That means demand will be even greater," said Sevastyanova.

The IOM noted that providing housing for displaced Ukrainians remains a critical priority that will be essential in stabilizing the social and economic situation.

Long-term challenges solutions

Igor Kotelianets, head of the Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin, told Kontur that allocated housing is usually not apartments, but dormitories or repurposed buildings, schools and clinics simply furnished with beds and basic amenities. Almost no new permanent housing is being built.

"We have about five million internally displaced persons. To provide for everyone, we need to build entire cities. So, we're talking about more expeditious solutions: repurposing abandoned buildings and doing repairs or building modular towns," said Kotelianets.

An example of success is Hansen Village, built in the Kyiv Region with the support of an American private investor.

The planned community has small, furnished apartments that include all the essentials, allowing people to move in right away. Released prisoners of war and those who have lost their homes receive priority access to the housing.

Kotelianets emphasized that an important part of effectively addressing the housing problem is motivating communities to create internal rules and participate in investment programs for the rapid construction of temporary housing.

"These kinds of modular towns or, let's say, alternative housing are exactly what we need so that there is somewhere to resettle people. Because this is already a real, large-scale crisis at the national level," said Kotelianets.

Existing government initiatives, such as the eOselya program, let people get apartments on credit.

A future program will issue certificates for 2 million hryvnias ($47,500) to homeowners to exchange for other housing, which Kotelianets believes could significantly alleviate the crisis.