11 August 2026
(IMAGE: AI)
In 2026, the e-Recovery program offers several ways to receive assistance for damaged or destroyed housing. Here’s a breakdown of what compensation and housing vouchers are currently available, who is eligible to receive them, and what steps you need to take to apply for assistance.
To receive compensation under the e-Restoration program, you must first verify that the ownership of the damaged or destroyed home is registered in the State Register of Real Property Rights. This is one of the mandatory requirements for participating in the program. If the property was registered before 2013, information about it may not be available in the electronic registry. In this case, you must first register the ownership through a Center for Administrative Services (CAS), a notary, or a state registrar.
The next step is to file a report regarding the damaged or destroyed property. This can be done through the “Diy” platform or at a CNAAP. If such a report has already been filed, there is no need to resubmit it for the same damage.
After that, you must submit an application for compensation. This can be done through the “Diy” platform, at a CSC, or through a notary. If the compensation involves a cash payment for repairing damaged housing or rebuilding a private home, you must also have a special “e-Restoration” account.
When filing the application, you select the type of compensation available for your specific residence: funds for repairing the damaged dwelling, a housing certificate to purchase another residence, or funds to rebuild a destroyed private home on your own land plot. Which specific mechanism can be used depends on the extent of the damage to the home and whether it is repairable.
If the damaged home has multiple co-owners, one of them may submit an application for compensation. The other co-owners may file an objection within 15 calendar days from the date the application is submitted. If there are no objections, the commission may decide to grant compensation. For destroyed housing, the rules are different: each co-owner may submit a separate application for their share of the compensation.
After submission, the application is reviewed by a commission of the local government. The commission verifies the documents, inspects the housing, and determines the amount of compensation. According to the Ministry of Development, decisions must be made within 30 calendar days. If necessary, the commission may request additional documents or clarifications. The outcome of the review is sent to the applicant via Diya or by another specified method.
This is where the procedure, which is common to most applicants, effectively ends. The next steps depend on the specific type of compensation the person receives: money for repairs, a housing certificate, or funds for reconstruction. It is these mechanisms that will differ significantly from one another in 2026.
If a home is damaged but can be restored, the “Restoration” program provides funds for repairs. The amount of compensation depends on the extent of the damage and the cost of the work, which is determined by a commission during an on-site inspection of the home.
There are two repair categories for these payments. Category A covers damage for which the calculated compensation amount does not exceed 200,000 hryvnias. Category B is intended for more significant damage. The maximum compensation in this case is up to 350,000 hryvnias for an apartment and up to 500,000 hryvnias for a single-family home.
These amounts are maximum limits. This means that an apartment owner does not automatically receive 350,000 hryvnias, nor does a house owner automatically receive 500,000. The commission determines the necessary repair work and calculates compensation based on a special checklist. As of January 5, 2026, the program uses updated average cost estimates for 65 types of repair work, including roof repairs, window replacement, interior finishing, and utility systems. However, the maximum compensation amounts have not changed.
For Category A repairs, compensation is paid in a single lump sum. The funds must be used within 12 months from the date they are credited. Once at least 90% of the compensation has been spent, a report on the completed repairs must be submitted through the “Diy” platform.
A different scheme applies to Category B repairs. The approved amount is paid in two installments: 70% initially, and the remaining 30% after an interim inspection. After at least 90% of the first installment has been used, the owner submits a report on the work performed and materials purchased. A commission verifies the use of funds and the work performed, after which the second installment may be released.
The first installment must be used within 12 months of being credited. The second must be used within six months of receipt. In total, up to 18 months are allotted for compensation for major repairs. A report must also be submitted after the second installment is used.
The funds received cannot be spent on any purchases at your discretion. They are deposited onto a special eVidnovlennia card and are intended for the purchase of building materials and payment for repair work and services. You can use them to pay at stores and companies participating in the e-Recovery program.
If your home has been destroyed and, based on the assessment results, is deemed beyond repair, one option for compensation under the e-Restoration program is a housing certificate. This is not cash transferred to the owner’s bank account, but rather an electronic document specifying the compensation amount for the purchase of another home.
The amount of the certificate is not the same for everyone. It is calculated individually using a government-approved formula that takes into account the characteristics of the destroyed home, including its square footage, location, year of construction, and number of rooms. If the home was jointly owned, each co-owner receives compensation in proportion to their share.
The certificate can be used to purchase an apartment, a single-family home, a room, or other residential property on the primary or secondary market. It can also be used to pay for an investment in a home that is still under construction or as a down payment under the eOselya program. If the selected home costs more than the certificate amount, the difference can be paid with personal funds or a loan.
After receiving the certificate, you must submit a separate application to reserve the funds. If funding is available at that time, the applicant will receive confirmation of the reservation. If there are insufficient funds, the application is placed in an electronic queue. The housing certificate itself is valid for five years, but after successfully reserving funds, you have 30 calendar days to complete the purchase of the home. If this is not done, the reserved funds are returned to the program, and you will have to reserve them again to purchase a home.
Before concluding the transaction, you must terminate ownership of the demolished home. This should be done after receiving the housing certificate, not in advance. Termination of ownership is formalized through a notary or a state registrar. The purchase of the new home is also formalized with a notary, and the state transfers the funds under the certificate directly to the seller.
Multiple housing certificates can be combined to purchase a single property. This allows, for example, co-owners of the destroyed home or other certificate holders to jointly purchase a new home if the funds from their certificates are reserved at the same time. At the same time, housing purchased using a certificate cannot be sold for five years.
There is another important legal consequence: by receiving compensation for destroyed housing, a person transfers to the state the right to claim against the aggressor state up to the amount of compensation received. In other words, it is not possible to claim reimbursement for this specific portion of the destroyed home’s value from future reparations.
The owner of a completely destroyed private home may choose not to use a housing certificate to purchase another home, but instead receive monetary compensation to build a new home. This mechanism applies to single-family homes, garden homes, and summer cottages.
The new house does not necessarily have to be built on the same site as the destroyed one. The land plot may be located in another region of Ukraine, excluding temporarily occupied territories and areas of active hostilities. At the same time, the plot for the new construction must be owned by the recipient of the compensation.
After the compensation is approved, to receive the first installment of funds, you must formalize the right to perform construction work—specifically, by submitting a notice of commencement or obtaining the appropriate permit. You must also terminate ownership of the destroyed home. Ownership of the land plot itself is retained. If the new home is to be built on the same plot, the Ministry of Infrastructure advises ensuring that the land documents are properly executed before terminating ownership of the destroyed property.
Compensation is paid in two equal installments—50% each—to a special eVidnovlennia card. The first installment can be spent on building materials, construction work and services, as well as on the development of design and cost estimate documentation and other services related to the construction of the new home. The funds are earmarked for specific purposes.
To receive the second 50%, you must begin construction and have spent at least 90% of the first installment. The design and cost estimate documentation must be prepared by certified specialists and uploaded to the Unified State Electronic System for Construction. Afterward, a notification of readiness for an interim inspection must be submitted via the “Diy” platform, along with supporting documents and photographs. A commission reviews the completed work and documents, and if the result is positive, the second half of the compensation is paid out.
Upon completion of construction, you must complete the acceptance of the new home into service and submit a final report via the “Diy” platform no later than 30 business days thereafter. Documents confirming expenses and photographs of the home must be attached to the report. If the construction completion report is not submitted within 18 months after the second installment, the system will initiate a mandatory on-site inspection. If the commission determines that the compensation was misused, the funds received must be returned to the government in full.
If the home is already being repaired using funds from eVidnovlennia but has been damaged again as a result of shelling, the owner may submit a new application for compensation without waiting for the previous repairs to be completed. This mechanism has been in effect since January 5, 2026.
To do this, open the “Repair Report” for the previous application in the Diya mobile app and indicate that the property has been damaged again. After that, you must submit a new damage report and a new application for compensation.
After submitting the new claim, the property is inspected again by the commission. The commission documents the new damage, simultaneously verifies what work has already been completed under the previous compensation, and recalculates the amount of assistance. There is no need to separately call the commission to inspect the previous repairs and the new damage—all of this is done during a single inspection.
However, you can only receive new compensation after closing the special account into which funds were deposited based on the previous claim. If the account is still active, Diya will notify you that it must be closed. Any unused balance from the previous compensation is returned to the government. To receive the new payment, you must open a new special “e-Restoration” account.
Thus, the owner does not need to first complete repairs for the old damage just to be eligible to report new damage. However, it is important to document the new damage separately, close the previous account, and submit a new application—new compensation is not awarded automatically.
In 2026, the government amended the rules for restoring cultural heritage sites damaged or destroyed as a result of Russian aggression. Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 713 of May 20, 2026, took effect on June 10. It applies not only to monuments of local or national significance but also to newly identified cultural heritage sites and World Heritage sites.
For homeowners, the main change is that a building’s status as a cultural heritage site no longer automatically prevents them from receiving compensation under the e-Restoration program. Previously, particularly in Odesa, residents of such buildings were effectively unable to take advantage of the program due to an unregulated procedure for inspecting and restoring monuments.
For damaged heritage sites, the government has established a special procedure for inspection and restoration work. Decisions regarding the necessary work are made based on the results of a commission-led or technical inspection. For sites with serious damage, a technical inspection is mandatory. At the same time, cultural heritage protection requirements remain in effect: the restoration of a historic site must be carried out in accordance with special preservation rules.
A separate provision addresses situations where a cultural heritage site has been destroyed to such an extent that its restoration is technically impossible or impractical. Such a decision must be made by the relevant cultural heritage protection authority. Afterward, the site may be deemed destroyed for compensation purposes, and the Restoration Commission verifies the existence of this decision when reviewing the application.
This opens up the possibility for owners of destroyed housing in historic buildings to receive compensation, in particular through the housing certificate mechanism. At the same time, the status of a historic building alone does not automatically entitle the owner to compensation: the applicant must meet the program’s general eligibility requirements (in particular, be the owner of the destroyed dwelling), and for a destroyed property, an additional decision is required stating that restoration is impossible or impractical.
For Odesa, this change has particular practical significance. Owners of apartments in historic buildings have been unable to fully benefit from the e-Restoration program since its launch in 2023, and city authorities have repeatedly requested that this issue be resolved. The new rules remove this very procedural obstacle.
A housing voucher for IDPs from temporarily occupied territories is a separate component of the e-Recovery program, which became operational at the end of 2025. The amount of assistance provided through a housing voucher is 2 million hryvnias per recipient.
The key difference from a housing certificate is that the voucher is not compensation for a specific destroyed home. Applicants do not need to prove that an apartment or house in the occupied territory was damaged or destroyed, submit documents proving ownership of such property, or renounce ownership of it.
In 2026, during the first phase of the program, IDPs who have left the temporarily occupied territories and have the status of combatant or person with a war-related disability will be eligible to receive a voucher. To participate, applicants must have a valid IDP certificate confirming their previous place of residence in the temporarily occupied territory and their current residence in territory controlled by Ukraine. However, eligibility for the voucher does not depend on whether the person owns housing in the temporarily occupied territory.
There are additional requirements for program participants. First, the applicant, their spouse, and minor children must not own any other housing in territory controlled by Ukraine. However, housing located in temporarily occupied territories or in areas of active hostilities for which no end date for the hostilities or occupation has been set is not taken into account. Second, as of August 1, 2026, grounds for denial include, in particular, the termination of the applicant’s or their family members’ ownership rights to housing after February 24, 2022, as well as the use of certain state mortgage programs. Third, certain restrictions also apply to the registration of a place of residence in the temporarily occupied territories following their occupation.
A housing voucher can be used to purchase housing on the primary or secondary market, to invest in construction, or to make a down payment or mortgage payment. You cannot receive these 2 million hryvnias in cash or have them transferred to your personal account: the funds are directed directly to the home seller or a financial institution.
Once the commission approves the application, the housing voucher is generated automatically. It is valid for five years. To use it, you must reserve the funding. If there are insufficient funds in the program at that time, the applicant is placed on an electronic waiting list. Once the reservation is confirmed, you have 60 days to select a home and finalize the transaction. If you do not meet this deadline, the reservation will be canceled, but you may reapply for it.
A home purchased with a voucher cannot be sold for five years. Multiple voucher recipients can use their vouchers to jointly purchase a single home. For example, this could involve members of the same family, provided each is eligible for such assistance.
Thus, a housing certificate and a voucher address a similar problem but on different grounds. A certificate is compensation paid to an owner for a specific home destroyed by the war, while a voucher is housing assistance provided to specific categories of IDPs who have left the temporarily occupied territories. It is not possible to use both mechanisms simultaneously.
Олег Пархітько
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