IDP Rights: will there be housing, jobs and compensation in 2026?
By the end of 2025, about 4.6 million internally displaced persons were officially registered in Ukraine, with the largest numbers concentrated in major cities and regions that absorbed evacuation waves, according to the Ministry of Social Policy. The state is maintaining basic guarantees but is increasingly shifting from universal assistance to targeted programs, primarily in housing and employment. At the same time, compensation for destroyed housing is gradually taking shape as a workable mechanism. What these rules looked like in 2025 and what to consider in 2026 is explained by Frontliner.
Mass displacement has not been evenly distributed. The greatest burden falls on regions with large rental markets, job opportunities and relative security. This creates competition for housing, drives up prices and forces communities to rethink temporary solutions as long-term ones. At the same time, international assessments confirm that a significant share of IDPs do not plan a rapid return as long as security risks and destruction remain high.
Housing, jobs and compensation
The key innovation of 2025 was a rent subsidy for IDPs tied to a formal lease agreement and proof of payments. Even with the subsidy, however, the main bottleneck remains the lack of available housing in regions that received hundreds of thousands of people.
For the labor market, the government introduced an incentive: employers can receive compensation for hiring IDPs. In 2025, the government also adjusted conditions for employers in frontline regions, presenting this as an expansion of access to compensation. In practice, the outcome depends on two factors — whether suitable vacancies exist for a specific person.
In 2025, the eRecovery program became a real path to homeownership for some displaced families. As of November 2025, the state reported nearly 28,000 housing certificates issued for a total of about 40 billion hryvnias. Among those who had already purchased housing were more than 8,600 IDP families. The program’s main constraints are the pace of funding and housing availability on the market.
Pro tips: how IDPs can avoid losing support in 2026
- Keep your data updated, like address, family composition and employment status, as changes often affect payments and eligibility for programs.
- For rent subsidies, rely on a formal lease and documented payments; without them, the mechanism usually does not work.
- If you are looking for a job, check options through employment centers and employer compensation tools, which increase your chances of formal employment.
- If your home was destroyed, use eRecovery as a pathway to new housing rather than as one-time assistance.
- If you plan to relocate within Ukraine, assess not only security conditions but also rental and labor markets, as these will determine your financial stability in 2026.
Expectations for 2026
The logic for 2026 is likely to involve greater targeting, with support increasingly tied to income, employment and demonstrated housing needs. Rental and compensation tools are expected to develop further, but the core challenge will remain unchanged: in regions of mass displacement, demand for housing and jobs is growing faster than markets and local programs can respond. For IDPs, the best strategy for 2026 is not to wait for a “final solution,” but to use existing mechanisms, such as formal status, transparent rental arrangements, official employment and applications for compensation.
Adapted: Kateryna Saienko
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Frontliner wishes to acknowledge the financial assistance of the European Union though its Frontline and Investigative Reporting project (FAIR Media Ukraine), implemented by Internews International in partnership with the Media Development Foundation (MDF). Frontliner retains full editorial independence and the information provided here does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union, Internews International or MDF.
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