From collective sites to private homes: UNHCR enables forcibly displaced people find dignified housing solutions

A kitchen where they can cook, a bedroom for the children, a private shower, and enough space for each member of a family. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced of the country’s population to flee their homes, leaving behind such comforts, and most of their belongings and the lives they had built.
Almost two years after Iryna fled her hometown Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine – a city that now lies in ruins – she is standing again in a kitchen that she can call her own. For several months, the 33-year-old woman and her daughter and son have been living in a two-bedroom rented apartment in Vinnytsia. Moving into this housing was a life-changing event for the family, after they had spent a year and a half in a dormitory, designed for students not families, that had quickly been turned into a temporary collective site for displaced people.
"Finally, it is my own clean and private space. There is no longer a need to wait in line for a shower, and you can take as much time as you need without hearing knocks on the door," Iryna notes.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its NGO partner Medair helped Iryna find an apartment to rent and sign a rental agreement. She also received cash assistance to cover rental payments for six months and utility fees.
Through its Rental Market Initiative launched in 2023, UNHCR supports internally displaced people like Iryna who cannot return to their homes and continue living in collective sites across Ukraine with accessing alternative housing solutions. The programme is implemented in eight regions in central and western Ukraine, which host the largest share of internally displaced people.
UNHCR identifies families that seek to move out from collective sites and provides the necessary support, which can include protection services and legal advice, conclusion of rental agreements and improvement of living conditions in the new apartment. UNHCR also provides cash assistance to cover several months of rent and utility fees and helps facilitate access to job opportunities, to enable the families to become self-sufficient and continue paying the rent once the rental assistance from UNHCR ends.
“We aim to support people living in collective sites, including those at risk of eviction, to find alternative housing solutions that match their circumstances. For many, central to this is access to the private rental market which builds resilience and independence. Through the Rental Market Rapid Assessment, we first understand the market conditions so we can advise on where there is the best accommodation. And then, based on the needs, we provide a minimum package and other services, be it a legal or technical advice, or advocacy work,” explains Richard Michael Evans, Senior Shelter Officer at UNHCR Ukraine.
The alternative housing assistance also includes maintenance work or small repairs if needed.
The chaplain Oleh and his wife Olha were displaced from the city of Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia region to Vinnytsia region where they stayed in a collective site. They were offered the possibility to move into a village house for free, paying only the utility bills so that they wouldn’t have to be concerned about rent. However, the heating system in the building did not function properly making it difficult for them to keep warm in the cold season.
With state benefits for displaced people being their only income, the family did not have resources to fix it themselves. UNHCR, together with its NGO partner Medair, upgraded the heating system, so Oleh and Olha are now reassured that they can stay warm during winter.

“Now all the radiators are warm, and the house is cozy. There is enough space for two more families here, so we are expecting others to also find shelter in this house in the near future,” Oleh said.
UNHCR’s Rental Market Initiative is supported by funding from the American People and the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.  In 2023, through this programme, UNHCR has helped over 1,100 in Ukraine find alternative private housing solutions and facilitated their access to job opportunities, building self-reliance amongst displaced families.