Coping with Consequences of a Housing Crisis during Great War: A Case of Right-Bank Ukraine in 1914-1918

Abstract

World War I led to radical changes in the government policy of participating countries. The enormous demographic and economic disturbances caused by the war forced the governments of all the belligerent nations to drastically restrict the market freedom. In particular, the state began actively intervening in the housing market. Ukraine as a part of the former Russian Empire, for the first time in its history saw the introduction of rent controls and protection of tenants from eviction. This paper concentrates on the government intervention in the rental housing market of Right-Bank Ukraine during World War I (1914–1918). It identifies the factors that made the state intervene in the relationships between landlords and tenants, analyzes changes in the housing legislation, and assesses the effectiveness of the regulations.