The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language has clarified the rules for communication in building chats: if a Viber chat is in fact the sole working communication channel of an HOA (housing association) with co-owners, the information in it must be provided in Ukrainian. This was stated in a Facebook post by the ombudsman's representative, Lyudmyla Sachura, as reported by RBC-Ukraine.

Why an HOA chat falls under the language law

The ombudsman's key argument is built on the legal status of the organization. An HOA is a legal entity, and its officials, when performing their duties, are required to comply with the requirements of the language legislation. Accordingly, when the chairperson or another representative of the HOA informs co-owners about decisions, fees, repairs, and other matters relating to the building's operations, this is considered work-related communication rather than private correspondence. In such cases, Article 30 of the language law applies, which requires the use of the state language in the sphere subject to state regulation.

Case from Cherkasy Oblast: a warning and 30 days to rectify

The ombudsman's representative gave a specific example. The head of one HOA in Cherkasy Oblast ran a work Viber chat with co-owners in Russian and believed this was a personal matter. During a state inspection, it was established that the chat was in fact the sole communication channel and that the correspondence was conducted in the course of performing official duties. As a result of the inspection, the chairperson's actions were recorded as a violation of Article 30; he was issued a warning and given 30 days to rectify the violation.

Where the boundary lies: work chats and private communication

The ombudsman's office emphasizes that this concerns specifically work-related communication tied to the HOA's activities and the informing of co-owners. This does not mean that residents are banned from private correspondence with one another in any language. The distinction is drawn based on the nature of the message: if the text is of an official, organizational, or informational character and comes from an HOA official, it falls under the law's requirements; if it is personal communication between neighbors, it does not.

Contradictory data

Here it is important to honestly distinguish between two framings. In materials from a number of outlets, in particular kp.ru, the situation is headlined as the start of "fines for the Russian language in building chats." However, in the documented case from Cherkasy Oblast cited by the ombudsman himself, the measure applied was precisely a warning with a deadline to rectify the violation, not a fine. In other words, public headlines are outpacing actual practice: in the specific verified case, the sanction was limited to a warning, whereas fines are generally considered in the event of a repeated or unrectified violation. The gap between "warning" and "fine" in the headlines versus the original clarification is precisely the inconsistency that should be taken into account when interpreting the matter.

What co-owners should do and how many HOAs there are in the country

The ombudsman calls on co-owners to document cases where an HOA does not provide information in the state language and to file the corresponding complaints through the form of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. According to the figures cited in the clarification, by the end of 2024 more than 40,000 HOAs were operating in Ukraine, so such situations may not be isolated. The context is reinforced by other facts: a bill on tightening the norm on the use of the Ukrainian language, with amendments to 22 laws at once, has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada, and this year more than a hundred violations of the language law have already been identified in advertising, predominantly in Kharkiv and Dnipro.