The occupation authorities in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions have been granted the right to seize housing belonging to Ukrainians who fled the war until 2030. Such a law was signed on December 15 by Vladimir Putin. According to the document, “residential houses, apartments, and rooms located in the seized territories that show signs of ownerless property” will be recognized as the property of the regions or their municipalities. The criteria for determining “ownerlessness” will be set by the occupation administrations themselves in coordination with Rosreestr and Rosimushchestvo. The absence of information about the owner or the inability to identify them based on available documents will not prevent the seizure.
The law provides for various ways of using the confiscated property. It may be transferred to Russian citizens living in the occupied territories who lost their housing “as a result of hostilities, sabotage, terrorist attacks, or acts of aggression against the Russian Federation.” At the same time, applicants must not own other housing suitable for living and must not be receiving payments or certificates for the purchase or construction of housing. In addition, the “authorities” may allocate seized properties as service housing for civil servants, military personnel, officials, law enforcement officers, teachers, and doctors.
Property deemed “ownerless” may also be provided “for possession and use under a specialized rental agreement to citizens of the Russian Federation in accordance with the country’s Housing Code.” Furthermore, nationalized real estate may be used (under social rental agreements) to house local residents in need.
In addition, the seized property may be transferred to federal ownership and then contributed as an asset to the “Territorial Development Fund,” which will receive the right to lease it out, sell it, reduce its price, and conduct closed transactions without public auctions.
The law mentions compensation that former owners of apartments and houses who have lost ownership rights may claim. However, this applies only to those who have obtained Russian citizenship. The procedure for compensation will be determined by the occupation authorities.
Oversight of the seizure and distribution of “ownerless” housing will be carried out by the team of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, who heads the supervisory board of the Territorial Development Fund. His former government secretary, Ilshat Shagiakhmetov, became the fund’s CEO immediately after the law was adopted. The fund and its affiliated structures have already been mentioned by foreign media as major recipients of construction contracts in Mariupol.
