Housing voucher in use: Rejection of applications from civilians with war-related disabilities

As part of the “Housing Voucher in Use” series, the PravoVsim team proposes to examine the reasons for refusal of a voucher to civilian persons with disabilities as a result of war who are internally displaced persons. Earlier, we already wrote about the practical aspects of this programme in the article “Housing voucher in use: Delays in approving one spouse’s application .”

In the explanations of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, it is usually stated that vouchers are available to IDPs from temporarily occupied territories who have the status of a combatant or a person with disabilities as a result of war. However, the key conditions are determined by the Procedure approved by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 1176, which limits the circle of beneficiaries by providing that recipients of assistance within this category of IDPs are persons with disabilities as a result of war who fall under clauses 11–16 of Part Two of Article 7 of Law No. 3551-XII.

Therefore, the status of a “person with disabilities as a result of war” in itself does not automatically mean entitlement to a housing voucher, since the decisive factor is the legal ground on which this status was granted. This is precisely where the key reason for refusal that civilian persons may face arises.

The Law contains a broader range of persons who belong to the category of persons with disabilities as a result of war. For example, Clause 4 of Part Two of Article 7 covers persons who became persons with disabilities as a result of injuries or other health damage caused by explosives, ammunition, and military weapons in areas where hostilities were taking place, as well as while carrying out mine clearance activities. This is one of the most obvious grounds on which a civilian person may have the status of a person with disabilities as a result of war. However, this category is not included in clauses 11–16 referred to in Procedure No. 1176. Therefore, in such a case, refusal to provide a housing voucher follows not from the absence of the status as such, but from the fact that the person does not belong to the specific subcategory of that status which the Government included in the programme.

In other words, for civilian persons in this programme, the decisive factor is not the word “civilian” itself, but the legal structure of the status. Some civilian persons may fall under the programme if their status of a person with disabilities as a result of war was established specifically under clauses 11–16 of Part Two of Article 7 of the Law, in particular:

1. employees of enterprises, institutions, and organisations who were involved in ensuring defence and became persons with disabilities as a result of injury or illness;
2. volunteers who supported the conduct of the Anti-Terrorist Operation / national security and defence measures;
3. as well as persons who became persons with disabilities as a result of self-defence while carrying out tasks related to the legal regime of martial law.

Therefore, refusal to a civilian person with disabilities as a result of war is not always unlawful, because the programme does not cover all persons with the status of a person with disabilities as a result of war, but only those who fall under clauses 11–16 of Part Two of Article 7 of Law No. 3551-XII.

That is why, before submitting an application, it is important to check not only the existence of the certificate, but also the regulatory ground on which this status was established, as well as the other programme criteria.

Lawyers of the platform provide free consultations on the procedure and process for obtaining and using housing vouchers for IDPs.