Statement of the Ukrainian Association of Developers on the critical situation in the construction industry
The Ukrainian Association of Developers, which represents the country's largest companies, is forced to declare a critical situation in the country's construction industry.
According to official estimates, the aggressor has destroyed the homes of more than 1.5 million Ukrainian families, while construction volumes have halved compared to pre-war levels. According to minimal estimates, it will take at least 25 years to provide housing for these families under current conditions. This is absolutely unacceptable. The state should create conditions for the development of the construction industry, and thus provide housing for Ukrainians, as one of its priorities.
Instead, the construction industry is not just deprived of support. It is under constant pressure and blocking. Developers, who stand behind millions of Ukrainian families and hundreds of thousands of workers, are being held hostage by some politicians, officials and labor activists. They, along with individual representatives of certain structures, are illegally blocking the work of an entire sector of the economy. In some cases, the authorities either indulge them or simply pretend that the problem does not exist.
We, Ukrainian developers, have a number of important questions for both local and central authorities:
1. Why does the government condone the destruction of the construction industry?
With all the permits and documents in place, today the developer has no guarantee that the state (local governments and central authorities) will not change the rules on the fly and cancel or block construction.
As a result, developers go bankrupt, the economy loses billions, and people do not receive housing.
2. Why do pseudo-activists have an advantage over the law?
More and more often, it is they, not the law, who decide what is right and wrong.
If a developer has started work in compliance with all the regulations, it will complete it in Europe. In Ukraine, this does not mean anything. After a year of construction, an official can cancel his or her own decision under pressure from the street; some law enforcement officers can open criminal proceedings just because they want to invite businesses to "discuss the financial issue."
As a result, pseudo-activists and security forces are making money. Businesses are suffering critical losses, the economy is losing money, and citizens are not getting their homes.
3. Why does the state unilaterally violate the rules of the game in the construction sector - revoking its own decisions and canceling its own regulations, as well as changing the status of objects and land on the fly?
Having the right to own property, developers face constant obstacles: real estate is recognized as a cultural heritage site on the fly, although it has never been one; vacant lots where legal construction work is already underway are granted the status of green areas or parks, construction is stopped, etc. This is despite the fact that the concept of "revocation of a decision" is not provided for by law in principle. Moreover, changing the status of someone else's property without the owner's consent is a violation of the basic constitutional right of individuals to dispose of their property.
As a result , cities are "decorated" with collapsed or half-constructed buildings and abandoned construction sites that have been standing for decades while the developer defends its rights in court. Banks, including international ones, see the government's decisions as unreliable and enormous risks due to the state's volatility, so they refuse to lend to businesses. All of this slows down economic development.
4. If the state is implementing decommunization, why are they trying to make objects with hammer and sickle on their facades cultural heritage monuments?
Across the country, there are thousands of one- and two-story Leninist-era buildings with communist symbols that some activists, together with officials, are trying to grant the status of cultural heritage monuments after construction work has already begun. In this situation, local authorities and the central executive branch are increasingly moving not in the legal but in the political field.
As a result, instead of protecting the rights of citizens to housing, Ukraine is protecting the sickles and hammers of the Leninist-Stalinist era.
Continuing to ignore the problems of the industry and its systemic blocking will inevitably lead to catastrophic consequences:
- Rapid growth in the cost of housing, which will become unaffordable for most citizens.
- A deep shortage in the market, which will further complicate access to housing for affected Ukrainians.
- Investors, entrepreneurs, and, most importantly, ordinary citizens will remain hostage to the situation and suffer enormous losses.
- The economy will lose billions. The industry will be stopped.
In view of the above, we appeal to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, mayors and local governments!
The authorities - the government, parliament, mayors - must intervene in the situation! We demand fair rules!
1. Restore compliance with the law in the construction industry by all its participants!
2. Stop the arbitrariness of pseudo-activists and security forces! Bring extortionists and blackmailers to justice!
3. To consider the issue of cultural heritage exclusively in the legal field, and not under the pressure of the street!
4. Prohibit the application of laws and regulations retroactively!
5. Ensure stability and predictability of legislation for the development of the construction industry!
If this is not done today, there will be no one to rebuild the state tomorrow.
