The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine has drafted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Introduction of Mechanisms for Ensuring Pedestrian Accessibility to Preschool Education Institutions During Urban Development”.
The draft law was prepared in implementation of the twelfth paragraph of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 5 of Section XII “Final and Transitional Provisions” of the Law of Ukraine “On Preschool Education” and in accordance with item 1.29 of the Action Plan for the preparation of acts and performance of other tasks required for the implementation of Law No. 3788-IX. These provisions require the submission to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of a draft law introducing effective mechanisms for ensuring pedestrian accessibility to preschool education institutions during urban development, in particular by prohibiting the commissioning of multi-apartment residential buildings without the prior or simultaneous commissioning of preschool institutions within walking distance, and by establishing the inevitability of liability for officials who commission such buildings in violation of the statutory pedestrian accessibility requirements for preschool institutions.
According to the explanatory note, the draft act proposes amendments to the Laws of Ukraine “On Liability for Offenses in the Field of Urban Development,” “On Comprehensive Reconstruction of Quarters (Microdistricts) of Obsolete Housing Stock,” “On Regulation of Urban Development Activities,” “On Guaranteeing Property Rights to Real Estate Objects to Be Constructed in the Future,” and “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine” in the following areas:
- establishing liability for urban development offenses committed by urban development entities performing construction works;
- prohibition of including a preschool educational institution in the last construction phase/start-up complex, except in cases where this phase/complex also includes another object, if the design documentation provides for phased construction and includes a preschool educational institution as part of the construction project;
- assigning delegated powers to the executive bodies of village, township, and city councils to carry out, in the prescribed manner, state control over compliance with legislation and approved urban planning documentation during the planning and development of respective territories;
- suspension, in cases provided by law, of construction carried out in violation of urban planning documentation and design specifications of individual objects (including the construction of educational institutions as provided for in the construction design documentation), as well as construction that may cause harm to the natural environment;
- in the event of announcing a competition to attract investor-developers for the implementation of housing reconstruction or replacement projects, the local self-government body must adopt a decision specifying, in particular, the investor-developer’s involvement in the development of the engineering, transportation, and social infrastructure of the development area (including the provision of preschool educational institutions within walking distance);
- designation in detailed plans and development projects of preschool educational institutions, within the areas subject to the reconstruction or replacement of obsolete housing stock, with due regard to pedestrian accessibility (if necessary).
In particular, the Draft Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Introduction of Mechanisms to Ensure Pedestrian Accessibility to Preschool Educational Institutions During the Development of Territories” provides for the following provision:
“If the design documentation for construction provides for stages and/or start-up complexes and includes a preschool educational institution as part of the construction project, it is prohibited to include the preschool educational institution in the final stage/start-up complex, except where another facility is also included in this stage/start-up complex.”
“It shall be established that the provisions of Part Thirteen of Article 31 of this Law (referring to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Regulation of Urban Development Activities’) do not apply to design documentation for construction projects for which the right to perform construction works was obtained prior to the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Introduction of Mechanisms to Ensure Pedestrian Accessibility to Preschool Educational Institutions During the Development of Territories’. Any amendment to such design documentation aimed at altering the construction sequence by assigning the preschool educational institution to the final stage/start-up complex of the construction project shall be prohibited, unless another facility is also included in that stage/start-up complex.”
The draft law also contains a provision amending the Law of Ukraine “On the Guarantee of Real Property Rights to Real Estate Objects to Be Constructed in the Future”, which requires that the developer, the construction customer, and the manager of the construction financing fund (if applicable), in cases where the construction of a real estate object (a multi-apartment residential building) is carried out with the involvement of non-governmental funds (directly or indirectly) from individuals or legal entities—including under management arrangements—for the subsequent acquisition by such persons of ownership rights to the respective real estate objects, must publish on their official websites the following information: whether or not the construction project includes social infrastructure facilities (including preschool educational institutions that provide access to early childhood education).
This draft law may be discussed in the group Urban Planning in Ukraine.
Ⓒ 2025