Since August 2025, Ukrainian legislation has introduced the concept of usufruct of state and community property. This will gradually replace the current forms of public property ownership and management: operational and economic management.

The usufruct of community property is a special property right that allows for the free ownership and use of community property.

Unlike the legislative regulation of operational and economic management instruments, which was implemented exclusively by the Economic Code of Ukraine, the regulation of the usufruct of community property is more precise. It defines the legal framework for key issues of legal relations and provides local governments with considerable discretion within the limits of this regulation.

To help communities better understand the new mechanism, Polaris Programme consultants, in collaboration with the Ministry for Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, have prepared an explanatory note. Using the transfer of community property to a community commercial enterprise as an example, it demonstrates how the right of usufruct can be applied in practice.

• What property can be transferred under the right of usufruct?
• Is a contract for the usufruct of communal property necessary?
• Who is a usufructuary, and what are their rights and obligations?

The answers to these questions, along with typical examples of local government decisions on the management of community property under the right of usufruct, can be found in the note. You can view the publication at this link.

To gain a more detailed understanding of the issue, we also recommend reading the expert article “Registration of rights to a land plot under a real estate object subject to community property usufruct”, which offers guidance on properly registering land rights and managing such assets.