Copyrights: Habitat for Humanity Ukraine/Habitat for Humanity Україна

Diversifying housing assistance pathways towards decent and affordable housing in Ukraine

IWO e.V. has joined Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Ukraine’s project “Diversifying housing assistance pathways towards decent and affordable housing in Ukraine,” which is funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH) through Habitat for Humanity International Germany.

The Habitat for Humanity Ukraine office was established in 2025. As outlined in the Strategic Plan for Ukraine for 2025–2030, Habitat for Humanity Ukraine’s strategy is based on three interconnected pillars:

• Building More and Better Homes
• Transforming the Housing System
• Inspiring Action for Housing

Since the onset of the full-scale war, Habitat for Humanity has been responding to the urgent housing needs of displaced and war-affected families across Ukraine. Since 2024, the organization has provided winterization support and non-food items (NFIs) to over 3,600 vulnerable individuals in the Kherson, Mykolaiv, and western regions, reaching collective centers hosting large numbers of displaced women, children, and the elderly. In Odesa, Habitat has continued its energy efficiency modernization program for multi-apartment buildings (MABs) with the Odesa Housing Union, upgrading nearly 10 buildings and benefiting 1,178 households through better heating efficiency and reduced energy costs. In Kalush, Habitat, METALAB, CO-HATY, and the Municipality of Kalush are jointly implementing  “Zirochka” pilot project to convert an empty municipal building into barrier-free, long-term rental housing for 150 vulnerable internally displaced persons. In parallel, Habitat has provided technical expertise to the Ministerial Working Group on Housing Policy Review, advocating for inclusive, affordable, and decent housing.

The HFH office in Ukraine invited IWO to engage in institutional cooperation in 2025. IWO supports and strengthens HFH’s activities in the following areas:

• Expert support for the Charitable foundation “CO-HATY” in implementing a management system at the “Zirochka” housing complex in Kalush through capacity-building measures and internal policy development.
• Expert participation in the Technical Working Group on the preparation of the draft State Strategy for Housing Policy in Ukraine, specifically in the subgroup “Housing Stock. Restoration. Management,” together with the partner organization, the Expert Inter-Sectoral Association of Ukraine (EMAU).

Representatives of IWO and EMAU actively participated in drafting parts of the document and provided the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine with their feedback on the final text of the strategy.

In March, IWO held an expert webinar titled “Housing Market Monitoring as a Tool for Implementing Housing Policy: The German Experience” with the aim of disseminating housing market monitoring practices in Ukraine and encouraging their use in the development of future local-level housing policies, as envisaged by the State Strategy. A recording of the webinar in Ukrainian is available on IWO’s YouTube channel. The following events are planned to present and discuss analytical and planning tools in the housing sector, which are particularly relevant for Ukraine in light of the large-scale Reform 7 “Human Capital” under the Ukraine Facility Plan.

Throughout 2026, IWO is supporting the institutional development of the CF “CO-HATY” through expert consultations, fundraising, and strengthening dialogue with residents of the foundation’s housing projects. Prior to the official opening of the housing project in Kalush, with the assistance of Vitaliy Kosoy and Iryna Yakovchuk, IWO developed a training program on responsible and economical housing use, conducted a training session for residents, and compiled the rules of residence into a handout brochure for the complex’s residents.

The implementation of the project in Kalush and IWO’s collaboration with CO-HATY are featured in a video on IWO’s LinkedIn page.

Partners

Charitable Foundation “CO-HATY”

EMAU