russia Has Legalized the Confiscation of Ukrainians’ Housing in the Temporarily Occupied Territories

Recently, the state duma of the russian federation adopted a law that empowers occupation administrations to recognize apartments and houses in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as “mismanaged” and to confiscate them. The law does not establish any clear criteria or transparent procedures, creating conditions for arbitrary and mass seizure of Ukrainian real estate.

Lawyers of the East SOS Charity Foundation emphasize that the right to private property remains inviolable even during temporary occupation. Under international law, the occupying power has no authority to alter the property regime or confiscate civilian property. Moreover, declaring housing as “ownerless” without defined procedures or legal grounds is a legal fiction.

Human rights defenders also stress that the legalized seizure of private property is prohibited under international humanitarian law. In particular, Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines as a grave breach “the appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.” The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court also classifies the appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, as war crimes.

According to the Center for Countering Disinformation, the confiscated housing is planned to be transferred to military personnel, officials, and educators brought in from russia. This policy aims to forcibly displace local residents from the temporarily occupied territories and replace them with individuals loyal to the occupation authorities. The confiscation mechanism is set to remain in force until 2030.

Currently, both the property of internally displaced persons who were forced to flee the war and the property of those who remain in the temporarily occupied territories are under direct threat. Under the new legislation, occupation administrations are granted broad discretionary powers to deprive Ukrainian citizens of their property rights without due process.

Recently, East SOS spoke about its assistance through the prism of protecting fundamental human rights.