Leases during martial law in 2026: when rent can go unpaid and what a chamber certificate gives you

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Author:
Олександр Сич
Published
7 April 2026

Martial law does not by itself excuse the rent. Part 6 of Article 762 of the Civil Code relieves a tenant only for the time the property genuinely could not be used for reasons they are not answerable for. A Chamber of Commerce certificate removes penalties and interest under Article 617, but it does not write off the rent itself.

The quarantine provision added to the Civil Code’s final and transitional provisions in 2020 has run its course: the quarantine ended on 30 June 2023 under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 651 of 27 June 2023. Rent disputes in 2026 are decided under the general rules of the Civil Code, and the Commercial Code, which used to define force majeure in Article 218, ceased to have effect on 28 August 2025 under Law No. 4196-IX.

So the whole structure rests on three provisions: part 6 of Article 762 on relief from rent, Article 617 on relief from liability, and Article 652 on changing a contract because circumstances have changed materially. They should not be confused, because each has different consequences, and courts dismiss claims precisely because the wrong ground was chosen.

Part 6 of Article 762: when a tenant really does not pay

The provision reads simply: the tenant is relieved of payment for the whole time the property could not be used by them because of circumstances they are not answerable for. The Supreme Court reads it narrowly. Relief from rent is treated as a substantial intrusion into contractual relations, so it is applied only in exceptional cases, and the tenant must prove that using the property was entirely impossible, not merely that revenue fell or things were inconvenient.

The approach to Article 762 is set out, among others, in cases No. 914/1248/18 and No. 914/2264/17. In practice that means a tenant has a case where the premises were destroyed by a strike, lie in a combat zone or occupied territory, or where access was closed by an official decision. A café that kept working between air raid alerts does not qualify: the property was available, the takings simply fell.

Proof must come from documents, not from a description of the situation: an inspection report on the damaged premises, a military administration certificate, the list of combat areas, records of utilities being cut off, correspondence with the landlord about the lack of access. That file decides the case, which is why a litigation lawyer starts by gathering evidence rather than by drafting the claim.

Force majeure and the Chamber of Commerce certificate

Force majeure is certified by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the regional chambers, under Article 14-1 of the Law “On Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Ukraine” No. 671/97-VR. The chamber’s general letter of 28 February 2022 No. 2024/02.0-7.1 is not a certificate: the Supreme Court has repeatedly said it is informational, contains no details of any particular contract, and therefore proves no causal link between the war and the non-performance of your obligation.

The second limitation matters more than the first. Even an individual certificate does not discharge an obligation automatically: the court weighs it with the other evidence and checks whether the circumstance really made performance impossible. Force majeure under Article 617 removes liability — penalties, fines and damages — while the principal debt remains and falls due once the circumstance passes.

Ground What it gives the tenant What must be proved What proves it
Part 6 of Art. 762 relief from rent for the period of impossibility that using the property was entirely impossible inspection reports, official certificates, correspondence
Art. 617 and a chamber certificate relief from penalties, fines and damages force majeure and its link to the particular contract an individual certificate plus evidence
Art. 652 the contract changed or terminated by a court all four conditions of the provision at once calculations, evidence that it was unforeseeable
Agreement of the parties, Art. 651 a discount, a rent holiday, termination without a court nothing beyond the landlord’s consent a supplemental agreement in writing

Four legal grounds for reducing or not paying rent during martial law, and their consequences

Leases of state and municipal property

State and municipal premises have their own regime under Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 634 of 27 May 2022 “On the specifics of leasing state and municipal property during martial law”, whose latest version took effect on 19 June 2026. It expressly allows amendments to existing leases reducing the rent or suspending its accrual, and for certain categories of property sets a rent of 1 UAH a year with no independent valuation.

A tenant of municipal premises should therefore first apply to the asset holder and the landlord for a review of the rent citing that resolution, and only then think about court. A refusal by the authority can be challenged, and here pre-action settlement of commercial disputes with all the correspondence on record comes into its own.

How to reach agreement with the landlord

The cheapest route closes the dispute without a court. Article 651 allows a contract to be changed or terminated by agreement, and no force majeure evidence is needed for that. A landlord often prefers a few months’ discount to hunting for a new tenant, so start with a written proposal carrying real figures: the size of the discount, the period, and when the old rate returns.

Never accept an oral arrangement. The lease was made in writing, so changes to it are made by a written supplemental agreement, and where the lease was notarised or registered the same form is required. If the landlord stays silent, send the proposal by registered post with a list of contents: without proof that you approached them, a court will later take it that you never tried to settle. The contractual side is usually handled by a property lawyer, since it concerns the terms on which the premises are used.

What a tenant should do, step by step

  1. Reread the lease: the force majeure clause often sets its own deadline for notifying the other party, and missing it forfeits the right to rely on the circumstance.
  2. Notify the landlord in writing within that deadline, attaching whatever evidence you have that the property cannot be used.
  3. Record the state of the premises: an inspection report, photographs, certificates of damage, records of utilities cut off or access closed.
  4. Apply to the regional chamber of commerce for an individual certificate, giving the details of the particular contract and obligation.
  5. Send the landlord a proposal to amend the lease with your calculation; for state or municipal property cite Resolution No. 634.
  6. If there is no agreement, prepare the claim: a claim to recover what was paid or to establish that no debt exists is monetary, while terminating the lease is non-monetary, and in the latter case the court fee for a company is 3,328 UAH in 2026.

Typical mistakes by the parties

  • Simply stopping payment, citing the war. The landlord charges penalties and sues, and the court awards the debt, because the tenant filed nothing showing the property could not be used.
  • Relying on the chamber’s general letter of 28 February 2022. It is not a certificate within Article 14-1 and confirms no link to any particular contract.
  • Missing the contractual deadline for notifying force majeure. A ten- or thirty-day notice clause applies, and courts refuse to apply Article 617 for that delay alone.
  • Confusing relief from rent with relief from liability. A certificate removes the penalties but does not write off the principal, and the calculation in the claim often goes wrong because of it.
  • Arranging a discount by messenger. Changing the terms requires a written supplemental agreement, and a chat thread becomes the basis of an argument about whether anything was agreed at all.

When you do not need a lawyer

If the landlord agrees to a discount or a rent holiday, a one-page supplemental agreement with the new figure and the period will do; you can draft it yourself, and a notary is needed only where the lease itself was made in that form. The force majeure notice is written without a lawyer too: the contract details, a description of the circumstance and a list of the attachments are enough. The application to the regional chamber is filed by the party to the contract. A lawyer is needed once the sum is disputed, once the landlord has sued, where the premises are damaged and the period of impossibility has to be calculated, or where state property is involved and the authority has refused to review the rent.

What a Chamber of Commerce certificate gives a tenant, and what the law says it does not

Questions and answers

Can rent go unpaid during martial law

Only for the period when the property genuinely could not be used for reasons the tenant is not answerable for, under part 6 of Article 762. A general reference to the war, or to falling revenue, is no ground for withholding payment.

Is martial law automatically force majeure

No. Force majeure is certified in relation to a specific obligation, and even a certificate is weighed by the court alongside the other evidence. You must show the circumstance made performance of your contract impossible.

What does the chamber’s certificate give a tenant

Relief from liability under Article 617: penalties, fines and damages for the period of the circumstance. It does not write off the rent itself, which falls due once the circumstance passes.

Is the 2020 quarantine rent provision still in force

No. It was tied to the quarantine, and the quarantine ended on 30 June 2023 under Cabinet Resolution No. 651 of 27 June 2023.

How can rent on municipal premises be reduced

By applying to the landlord citing Cabinet Resolution No. 634 of 27 May 2022, which allows amendments reducing the rent or suspending its accrual and, for certain properties, sets it at 1 UAH a year.

By when must force majeure be notified

Within the period the contract sets: often ten to thirty days from when the circumstance arose. Missing it usually forfeits the right to rely on force majeure even with a certificate in hand.

Can a lease be terminated because of the war

Yes, by agreement under Article 651 or through a court under Article 652 where circumstances have changed materially. The second ground requires every condition in the provision to be met at once, so courts grant such claims rarely.

What does a lease claim cost

For a company a non-monetary claim, such as termination, costs 3,328 UAH in 2026, and a monetary one is charged at 1.5 % of its value but no less than 3,328 UAH. For an individual the rates are lower.

Can rent already paid be recovered

Yes, where the period during which the property could not be used is proved. The claim is monetary, and limitation runs under the general three-year rule of Article 257.

Did anything change when the Commercial Code fell

Yes. The definition of force majeure in Article 218 of the Commercial Code no longer applies, since the code ceased to have effect on 28 August 2025. Force majeure is now defined by Article 617 of the Civil Code and Article 14-1 of the chambers of commerce statute.

Sources

Lease disputes with Svarog

We check the lease for its force majeure clause, prepare the notice to the other party and the file for a chamber certificate, negotiate supplemental agreements on discounts and run cases to recover or reclaim rent. A consultation costs from 1,500 UAH, a written opinion on a particular lease from 5,000 UAH, pre-action settlement from 5,000 UAH and full handling of a commercial case from 30,000 UAH; the remaining items are on the page of legal service prices. The court side is run by our commercial disputes lawyer.

+38 095 554-54-24 · Kyiv, 7 Khoriva Street (Podil) · Mon–Fri 9.00–18.00