Rosita Žibelienė, director of Vilniaus miesto būstas (Vilnius City Housing), estimates that a total of 2,031 Vilnius residents have received compensation over the past two years for hosting 5,785 Ukrainians. One home hosted four refugees on average, according to her.
The sum of compensation for offering a home to Ukrainians depended on the number of people hosted. The payment was EUR 150 for hosting one Ukrainian national and EUR 50 per month for each additional Ukrainian staying in the same home.
„It was a very quick response and mobilisation of the citizens of Vilnius, the various institutions and businesses, and the largest number of Ukrainians were accommodated in Vilnius. In 2023, the number of Ukrainians offered homes was already much lower, and it is likely that some of them started to live on their own – they found jobs, rented a flat on the market, and started to benefit from the compensation of a part of the rent,“ Žibelienė is cited as saying in the press release.
Data of Vilnius miesto būstas show that 498 Ukrainian families were paid housing rent compensation in 2022. There were 1,804 families receiving the compensation last year.