Odessa has run out of money for elevators: the city will request an additional 65 million

In Odesa, during the first half of 2026, 55 million of the planned 600 million were spent on the city’s targeted housing development program. The largest portion of the funds is earmarked for major repairs to buildings and the modernization of elevators.

During a meeting of the Odessa City Council’s Committee on Housing and Utilities, officials reviewed the progress made in 2026 on the city’s targeted housing development program for 2022–2028.

The total estimated funding for the program in 2026 was set at 600 million hryvnias. Of this amount, 570 million hryvnia is to come from the budget of the Odessa City Territorial Community, while an additional 30 million hryvnia is to be provided through co-financing by co-owners of apartment buildings. In the first half of the year, measures totaling 55 million hryvnia were actually implemented.

The program allocated 398 million UAH for the major renovation of apartment buildings. Of this amount, 241 million UAH was approved for funding, and work worth approximately 13 million UAH was actually completed during the first half of the year.

The Kyiv District Administration was allocated 24 million hryvnias, but no work was carried out. The Khadzhibey and Primorsky District Administrations were approved for 23 million and 25 million hryvnias, respectively; however, no work was carried out in the first half of the year either.

The Peresypsk District Administration had 48 million UAH allocated under the program, of which 13 million UAH were disbursed. Two contracts were signed under this line item, and certificates of completion were awaited for payment.

Separately, the program allocated 100,000 hryvnias for the preparation of a technical report on the condition of residential buildings’ structural elements. One such project was completed during the first half of the year.

An additional 2 million UAH is allocated for the preparation of technical documentation and technical passports for the buildings; however, no applications for such work have been received yet.

UAH 800,000 was allocated for the preparation of technical documentation for buildings to be transferred to municipal ownership. According to a department representative, these funds are already being used. In particular, four dormitories are to be transferred to the city pursuant to court decisions. There are also plans to transfer two more buildings that were returned from private ownership.

The greatest demand is currently for elevator modernization. The program allocated 190 million hryvnias to maintain the proper technical condition of the elevator system, but the city actually received 125 million hryvnias. In the first half of the year, repair work totaling 42 million hryvnias was completed—covering 30 elevators.

According to the department, the entire 125 million hryvnias has already been contracted out and, as of the end of August, the work is underway. Meanwhile, homeowners’ associations continue to submit applications: in the last two weeks alone, about 10 new requests have been received.

City officials plan to request an increase in funding for the elevator program to the 190 million hryvnias originally allocated for the program. If additional funding is approved, the city will be able to allocate another approximately 60 million hryvnias toward elevator modernization.

The department noted that it will continue to accept applications from HOAs and plans to carry out additional work following a potential increase in funding. At the same time, there is a limit on other types of work for homeowners’ associations—no more than 3 million hryvnias per project—while no separate limit per homeowners’ association has been set for elevators.

Odessa has also decided to extend the program to create a barrier-free urban environment for at least another year. More than 1 billion hryvnias from the municipal budget are earmarked for this purpose.

Анна Літман