Cabinet extends religious communities’ use of state property to up to 50 years

The UOC church in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign" in Odesa, which may be seized at the initiative of the Ministry of Education. Photo: UOJ

On December 23, 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution introducing changes to the procedure for transferring state and municipal property for free use to religious communities, raising the maximum term of such agreements to 50 years, the “Sudebno-yuridicheskaya gazeta” reports.

According to the document, the term of a free-use agreement for religious (worship) property is now determined by agreement of the parties, but may not exceed 50 years. In the previous version, the procedure limited that term to ten years.

The resolution also extends the period for submitting the documents required to conclude an agreement from 20 to 30 calendar days. In addition, the resolution revises provisions governing the conclusion of the use agreement, reimbursement of utility expenses, major repairs to the property, and the procedure for terminating the agreement in the event of noncompliance with its terms.

Separately, the Cabinet enshrined a preferential right to renew the agreement for those religious communities that had previously used the relevant property and had duly complied with the agreement’s conditions.

The issue of transferring worship buildings to religious organizations in Ukraine remains disputed. In particular, on December 11, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that the transfer of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic church to the Roman Catholic parish was being delayed. The Ministry of Culture rejected these accusations, saying that the transfer procedure had been launched and should be completed in the near term.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, at the Cabinet, Prime Minister Svyrydenko lit a menorah together with rabbis.

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