“More than half (54%) of IDPs live in rented housing”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to the organization, IDPs are among the most vulnerable to the housing crisis, often without sufficient resources to cover rental costs, and for many, their dependence on the rental market has depleted family savings.
According to a report released in November, displaced people are forced to spend 50 percent or more of their income on rent. It is noted that more than half (54%) of IDPs live in rented accommodation, while approximately one in five (21%) live with other people and cover only communal services. A small proportion (3%) of IDPs live for free, which corresponds to the low proportion of IDPs who reportedly received support from the state Cleansing program (2%).
The majority of IDPs – 50 percent – reported living in apartments, 34 percent in houses, and six percent in separate rooms in a house or apartment. Nine percent reported that they live in public housing.
IDPs living in cities, suburbs or towns are significantly more likely to rely on rented accommodation than those living in rural areas.
More than half of IDPs in large cities (71%), suburbs (54%), or small towns (56%) reported living in rented accommodation, while only 22 percent of IDPs in rural areas rented accommodation. In rural areas, home ownership among IDPs has risen to 33 percent, compared to just 10 percent outside rural areas.
Ukraine is facing an “unprecedented housing crisis”, with more than 236,000 buildings destroyed or damaged during the war, and more than 2.5 million housing units – about 10 percent of the housing stock – having been damaged or unavailable in some way due to the war.