Communities responsible for operating specific information systems will be able to rent state-owned premises for data centres without an auction. The monthly rent for state-owned property will be UAH 1 per square metre.

This may be useful for communities that are planning to host or reserve digital infrastructure. Ihor Onyshchuk, an independent expert in public finance, explains the terms of the new rules for local governments.

The amendments are set out in Resolution No. 1329 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 23 October 2026. It came into force on 28 October. The special regime will apply during martial law and for six months following its termination or cancellation.

Who can benefit from the special procedure

Resolution No. 1329 supplemented the rules on the leasing of state and communal property set out in Resolution No. 634. It permits the leasing, without an auction, of premises for the accommodation and operation of data centres, the deployment of specified Category I impact systems, or the creation of a recovery reserve for such systems.

As explained by Ihor Onyshchuk, the community must provide documentary evidence that the relevant authority is the owner, manager or administrator of a Category I system in terms of the impact of a disruption to the functioning of an information technology facility. This status has to be established by a legislative or regulatory act. The mere need for server premises is not sufficient.

The right to rent premises without an auction and the right to a preferential rate are subject to specific conditions. The rate of UAH 1 per square metre applies to state-owned property. With regard to communal property, the Government merely recommends setting the same fee. This requires a decision by the relevant local government.

For example, renting state-owned premises with an area of 100 m² would cost UAH 100 per month. Ihor Onyshchuk also emphasises that the preferential rate does not automatically apply to utility companies or private cloud service providers.

How a community can obtain premises

First, a prospective tenant submits an application to the landlord stating their need to enter into a lease agreement, along with documents that confirm their eligibility for the special procedure. For local governments, such confirmation is provided by a certificate of their status within the relevant Category I system.

Within five working days of receiving the application, the landlord must send a list of available properties that can be let. Once a property has been selected, the prospective tenant submits an application to enter into a lease agreement – either in paper form or by email.

As Ihor Onyshchuk points out, the five working days refer to the timeframe for providing the list of properties, not for completing the entire procedure. If there are no documents to confirm compliance with the requirements, the landlord will refuse to enter into the agreement.

Effective date of the regulations

The resolution came into force on 28 October 2026, the day of its official publication in issue No. 227 of the newspaper “Uryadovyi Kurier”. The special regime will remain in force during martial law and for a further six months after its termination or cancellation.