I Lived with the Hope That This Was Mine, and Then They Took It Away.” How Authorities Declare Housing in Occupied Territories Abandoned

“I lived with the hope that this was mine, and then they took it away.” How authorities declare housing in occupied territories abandoned

Pro-Russian authorities in Ukraine’s occupied regions have begun disposing of local residents’ “ownerless” housing. In December 2025, such houses and apartments began to be recognized as municipal property without a court. Even apartments where relatives live can end up classified as “ownerless.”

“A person lives in the apartment, pays for all utilities, and the owner’s daughter with two young children is also registered in this apartment; the owner of the apartment is in another country and cannot come, she had a stroke and a brain hemorrhage, she cannot come for health reasons, and the apartment was put into the ownerless category. And five days ago the girl who lives there was at work, but when she came home, the apartment had been sealed,” people write in a local chat.

Even if a person is prepared to come to Mariupol and obtain Russian citizenship, their housing can still end up classified as “ownerless.” Fifty-year-old Inna was required to prove in court that she and her daughter owned a one-room apartment in equal shares. But while the proceedings were under way, the apartment was first recognized as “ownerless” and then as municipal property. Now, according to neighbors, new residents have already moved in.

“I came to terms with it because I can’t do anything. It hurts, of course. I have this feeling that, as they say, I have neither a homeland nor a flag left,” Inna laments.

Read about how authorities declare housing in occupied territories abandoned and whether it can be recovered on Verstka’s website (with a VPN):

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Verstka

“I have neither a homeland nor a flag left.” How authorities declare housing in occupied territories abandoned

Apartments can be sealed with residents inside, and getting them back from municipal ownership is extremely difficult