UKRAINE STATE POLICY ON THE HOUSING PROVISION OF THE DISMISSED OR RETIRED SERVICEMEN (1991-2013)
Authors: Avtushenko Iryna 
Published: June 2020

The problem of providing housing of the dismissed or retired servicemen and members of their families is analyzed in the article on the basis of archival sources and publications.The situation with providing of housing for servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine dismissed from military service in the early 1990s, was complicated by the return to Ukraine of more than 32 thousand families of servicemen who served in other CIS countries. Financing of housing construction and provision of retired military personnel was carried out from state and local budgets. The research showed that every year expenditures on housing construction were reduced for persons dismissed from military service.To solve this problem the Program for housing providing for the dismissed or retired servicemen was adopted in 1999. The aim of the program was to facilitate the implementation of state policy in providing housing for retired servicemen, concentration of financial, logistic and other resources as well as coordination of the activities of central and local executive authorities, enterprises, institutions and organizations for solving this problem.

The National Coordinating Centre for Social and Professional Adaptation of the dismissed or retired servicemen was responsible for the implementation of the Program. The National Coordinating Centre controled the use of budget funds, following the compliance of local executive authorities and local self-government bodies with legislation on the provision of housing for persons discharged from military service, formed a consolidated database on the apartment registration of dismissed servicemen.For improve the implementation of the Program, traditional and non-traditional sources of funding were involved, including the deduction of 1.5% of corporate profit tax. Among the sources of financing of the Program were assets and property seized by customs and law enforcement agencies and transferred to the state property for use in housing construction.

The Program for providing housing, during 2005-2008, was not included in the list of budget programs of the Ministry of Defense and target expenditures from the general fund of the State Budget for its implementation were not allocated. The share of subvention from the state budget to local budgets was the only but insufficient financing source. As a result, the amount of housing received at the expense of said subvention, has been constantly decreasing. In the following years the financinghas practically ceased, which has led to an aggravation of the problem of providing housing to retired servicemen.The situation with providing of housing for servicemen who were on the housing account in local self-government bodies during the investigated period was extremely difficult. The conducted research testifies to the imperfection of the current hosing legislation’s norms. This made it possible for the local authorities to consider the issue of providing housing to dismissed servicemen at their discretion, which resulted in numerous abuses.

Effective methods and means of construction and reconstruction of state objects, cooperative and individual housing stock are necessary to implement in order to make the complex decision. This problem can be solved by developing and approving the procedure for granting privileged loans to dismissed servicemen for the purpose of construction and purchase of housing, the allocation of land for housing construction, and the purchase of housing in the secondary market.It is necessary to create a unified state mechanism that would allow local self-government bodies and the public to ensure compliance with state guarantees for the provision of housing for persons dismissed from military service. To introduce a transparent system of attraction, distribution and spending of funds directed at construction (purchase) of housing for the specified category of citizens.