Displaced Ukrainians risk home seizure under Russian law

Russian authorities allow land and real estate owners in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories until July 1, 2026 to claim property originally registered under Ukrainian law. Re-registration in the Russian land registry requires owners to appear in person and present a Russian passport, which many Ukrainians cannot do. Ukrainians who fled occupation may continue paying utilities but still face barriers to returning for re-registration. Russian occupiers have declared vacant buildings “ownerless” since 2014, and in 2021 the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic classified abandoned residential properties as “ownerless.” In 2024, occupying authorities expanded “ownerless” definitions to apartments or buildings vacant for more than a year without utility payments, allowing sale or seizure through “courts.”

"Russian authorities have granted owners of land and real estate in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine until July 1, 2026 to claim ownership of any property originally registered under Ukrainian law. But to re-register their property in the Russian land registry, owners have to appear in person and present a Russian passport as proof of their identity an impossibility for many Ukrainians."

"“It breaks my heart,” said Lyudmila (name changed.) “I built my whole life there. My business was bombed. I had to leave behind everything I held dear. I had hoped they would at least let me keep my apartment.” In 2022, she fled the Zaporizhzhia region to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to escape the Russian occupation. But she continued to pay the utility bills for her home."

"Until then, she doesn't intend to go home to re-register her apartment with the occupying authorities. “First of all, I don't want to see the occupiers because I was there and I know what these people are like. And I don't want to lose years of my life and get stressed. Second, I don't even know if they would let me in.”"

"Vacant buildings declared 'ownerless' Russian occupiers started seizing the homes of Ukrainians in occupied territories in 2014. Seven years, in 2021, the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic began classifying abandoned residential properties as “ownerless.” These can now be sold or seized by “courts.” In 2024, the occupying authorities went a step further and defined as “ownerless” apartments or buildings that have been vacant for more than a year, for which no utility bills have been paid, and"

Read at www.dw.com