Four Options for Apartment Owners to Winterize Their Buildings.

Resilience Plan for Essential Services

According to TSN.ua: Regional military administrations have been given a two-week deadline to draft a resilience plan for essential services ahead of next winter. For residents of multi-story apartment buildings, four distinct paths are now available to prepare for the cold season:

• Form a condominium association (OSBB),
• Hire a private management company,
• Continue with the old state-managed housing office (ZhEK),
• Take no action.

Buildings with an established OSBB have demonstrated superior heating performance this past winter. Alexey Tikhonov noted that

“people don't want to know this, they don't want to see it. But they are the co-owners of all the property in the building.”

“all that's needed for change is the owners' desire and a simple majority vote of 50% plus one. Moreover, Kyiv is now actively supporting new OSBBs.”

The average fee for private management services ranges from 11 to 16 hryvnias per square meter. City authorities are also offering financial incentives for newly formed OSBBs: 1 million UAH for buildings with up to 50 apartments, 1.5 million UAH for up to 150 apartments, and up to 3.5 million UAH for buildings with up to 250 apartments. This financial support could provide a significant incentive for residents to consider forming an association. These measures are part of a broader national effort to improve housing infrastructure and energy independence following widespread damage to centralized systems.

The Need for Energy Decentralization

Oleksiy Kuleba, the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, has emphasized the critical need for energy decentralization. Oleksandr Kharchenko stressed that

“additional cogeneration and gas-piston units must be installed at key boiler houses and hospitals. These are small-scale units that can realistically be installed before winter.”

Consequently, residents of multi-story buildings have the opportunity to choose the path that best suits their needs and capabilities to ensure comfortable living during the cold months. The implementation of new condominium associations and the decentralization of energy resources can significantly impact residents' quality of life, reduce building maintenance costs, and improve energy efficiency. These steps represent crucial moves toward ensuring housing stability during the winter season, offering residents more direct control over their living conditions.