Subsidies 2025: what you need to know about the new application procedure.

In recent months, the government initiated a number of changes to the housing subsidies and utility services benefits program, which has provided additional support to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians in need who cannot pay for utility services on Time for many years.

Recently, the Ukrainian government made several changes to the housing benefits and subsidies program for payment of utility services. This program has been providing additional support to those who cannot timely settle their utility bills for some time now.

Previously, most Ukrainians entitled to social benefits received them without considering the family's income. However, now the changes come into force and apply only to new applicants. If a family applied for assistance from January 1, 2025, the right to receive benefits will depend on the total family income starting from January 1, 2025. But for those who applied for benefits before December 31, 2024, the changes will be applied after the end of the heating season of 2024/2025.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. It does not apply to combat veterans and persons with disabilities due to the war, for whom the conditions for receiving benefits remain unchanged.

Secondly, the circle of persons eligible for subsidies has been expanded. The maximum expenses for consumer goods have increased, allowing more people to qualify for this aid.

Starting from January 1, 2025, the government increased the maximum purchase amount limiting the allocation of subsidies from 50,000 to 100,000 hryvnias. Also, if a family purchases an electricity generator powered by solar radiation or wind costing up to 150,000 hryvnias, or pays a one-time credit up to 150,000 hryvnias for installation, these expenses will not be considered when allocating subsidies.

The third change concerns the procedure for calculating the average monthly family income for subsidy allocation. Now only personal income tax and military duty will not be considered in the income calculation.

A new benefit for combat veterans relates to the payment of utility services. The Law 'On the Status of War Veterans, Guarantees of Their Social Protection' grants combat veterans a right to a 75% discount on rent and utility services payments.

The main criteria for receiving the discount are a heating area of 21 square meters per person residing permanently in the housing and an additional 10.5 square meters for the family.

Only persons with the status of a combat veteran can receive benefits for utility services. If the status is not confirmed, benefits are not provided. An application for a subsidy can be submitted via 'Diia', the nearest service center, or through a personal account on the PFU web portal.

In the near future, two more innovations are expected. Firstly, the Ministry of Social Policy is preparing changes to the procedure for granting housing subsidies (Regulation No. 848), which will allow clients to independently provide information about their utility services to receive aid.

Currently, the Ministry of Social Policy is working on changes to the regulations governing the grant of housing subsidies (Regulation No. 848). These changes will allow consumers to independently provide data about their utility services for receiving assistance when service providers do not submit timely information for subsidy calculations. This step aims to protect vulnerable categories of the population, who, due to the negligence of certain service providers, do not receive the legally prescribed assistance.

On the other hand, the government supported a draft law aimed at ensuring compliance of subsidies as targeted assistance. The document proposes to encourage recipients of monetized benefits to use these funds for the payment of utility services. However, this change has not been implemented yet.

The government also supported a draft law aimed at ensuring the compliance of subsidies as targeted assistance. It is proposed to encourage recipients of monetized benefits to use these funds specifically for paying utility services. However, this change has not yet been adopted.

The Ministry of Social Policy notes that some recipients of benefits have used the funds for other purposes, leading to an increase in debts to critical infrastructure enterprises. Currently, the Pension Fund owes 17 thousand beneficiaries who applied for subsidies, and the total amount of debt amounts to 52.7 million hryvnias.

Advocates believe that all changes introduced from 2025 will not lead to a decrease in the number of subsidy recipients. The creation of a unified approach and the ability to independently provide information about utility payments indicate that the government is trying to protect the most vulnerable categories of the population. Therefore, it is most likely that the number of benefit recipients will increase.

Lawyer Yelyzaveta Korobeynikova noted that some consumers whose income exceeds the limit may lose their right to benefits due to the application of a unified approach. However, thanks to the ability to independently provide information about payments, most people will be able to receive a subsidy. Likewise, the increase in the limiting rate on one-time expenses will help.