World Development Perspectives 31 (2023) 100519 Available online 28 June 2023 2452-2929/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Case report Case Report: Housing, land and property restitution after wars takes decades: Ukraine can change this Yuliya Panfl a , Jon Unruh b, * , Michael Cholod c a New America, USA b McGill University, Canada c The Peace Coalition Foundation, Canada A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Ukraine Eastern Europe Land rights Housing rights Restitution 1. Introduction Ukraine is poised to transform the process of housing, land and property (HLP) restitution and compensation after wars. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has displaced more than 13.5 million people (UNHCR, 2023) and created massive destruction and damage to the country’s HLP. Initial efforts at recovery along with counter-offensives have stabilized large areas of the country and liberated others, to which displaced Ukrainians are now beginning to return (Duggal, 2022; Conkling, 2022). The Ukrainian government faces the monumental task of getting millions of returnees back to their HLP and facilitating compensation for damage and destruction. Engaging in large-scale HLP restitution/compensation in Ukraine will be a daunting process. When refugees and IDPs (internally dis- located persons) return, many will not be able to prove they are the rightful occupants of their HLP because their property records are missing, destroyed, inaccurate, or never existed (Myers & Panfl, 2022). Ukraine’s property registry is only 40 percent complete, meaning that more than half of the country does not have formal digitized records of their property rights. For them, the risk of losing paper documentation of varying usefulness (if they existed) can be high as they failed to take them as they fed, or they were destroyed along with their HLP or from Russian targeting of HLP offces and archives. Properties can also be occupied by others or transacted as a political tool in the confict—the latter a disturbing reality in eastern Ukraine (Coynash, 2019), particu- larly now that Russia has attempted annexation of eastern territories (Lonsdorf & Harbage, 2022). Experience in other countries has demonstrated that large-scale forced dislocations can last decades and even generations as restitu- tion/compensation efforts are not planned or implemented in a timely manner, or claims are diffcult or impossible to fle for signifcant seg- ments of the dislocated population. During this time HLP can change hands multiple times and become illegally or legally held by others, including political elites or opposed ethnic, sectarian or religious groups. Meanwhile, the grievances of displaced families do not usually abate, but instead build over generations, sometimes leading to desta- bilizing movements (Fay & James, 2009). But despite the challenges it faces, Ukraine has the potential to transform postwar HLP restitution/compensation processes as currently practiced. With its digital sophistication, smartphone penetration, and a capable government willing to innovate, Ukraine might become the frst war-affected country in which millions of displaced citizens can return to their HLP quickly, be compensated promptly, and engage in timely reconstruction. 2. How to do this? Ukraine’s moves to start the legal, technical, social, diplomatic and fnancial processes of HLP restitution/compensation while the war is still underway could set a new, much needed standard. Such a start not only advances the extensive preparations needed for large-scale returns to HLP, but opening large numbers of claims prior to a war’s end can have strategic peacebuilding utility. This can occur by making legal and fnancial accountability for HLP damage and destruction widely known, * Corresponding author. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect World Development Perspectives journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/world-development-perspectives https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2023.100519 Received 13 April 2023; Accepted 22 June 2023