Ukraine extends use of detailed plans of territory for zoning decisions

In August 2025, the Law of Ukraine No. 4321-XI entered into force, amending the Law On regulation of urban development activities. The amendment prolongs the transitional period during which a Detailed Plan of Territory (DPT) may be legally used to establish or amend functional zones.

The mechanism was due to expire on 1 January 2025. The new law extends it until 1 January 2028, providing an additional three-year window in which DPTs remain a valid planning tool.

Why this matters

Functional zoning determines how specific land plots may be used—whether for residential, industrial, mixed-use, or public purposes. Under 2021 spatial planning reforms, these decisions flow from higher-level planning documents such as comprehensive spatial development plans, zoning plans, and settlement master plans. A temporary mechanism was introduced to ensure continuity by allowing DPTs to continue serving zoning purposes. Law No. 4321-XI preserves that mechanism, recognising that many municipalities – especially under-war conditions – have not yet adopted comprehensive spatial plans.

Implications for developers and investors

• Certainty for projects: Developers can continue to rely on DPT-based zoning decisions until 2028, reducing the risk of permitting delays.
• Support for reconstruction: The extension ensures that land-use approvals can move forward swiftly, which is critical for rebuilding infrastructure and housing.
• Limitations remain: No changes may be made through DPTs in sensitive areas such as islands, water protection zones, coastal strips, nature reserves, water bodies, forests, parks, and green areas.

Benefits for local governments

The extension gives municipalities additional time to:

• prepare, consult on, and adopt comprehensive spatial plans and zoning plans;
• maintain effective control over land-use through DPTs in the interim;
• focus resources on urgent reconstruction priorities without losing planning authority.

This strikes a balance between the long-term aim of elevating zoning to strategic documents and the short-term need for speed and flexibility.

What stakeholders should do

• Treat the extension as temporary: The 2028 deadline is final. Municipalities are expected to accelerate work on their higher-level plans.
•  Plan ahead: Developers and investors should track municipal progress, factor realistic adoption timelines into project schedules, and where possible, contribute to drafting comprehensive plans.
• Ensure compliance: DPT-based determinations must still respect all legal, environmental and public-participation requirements, and new wartime or reconstruction rules.

Wider policy context

In September 2025, the government approved the Priority Action Plan for 2025, which aims to do the following:

• support business development and scaling;
• combat unemployment and promote high-quality job creation;
• stimulate private and public investment under predictable and transparent rules;
•  advance deregulation to reduce administrative burdens.

The amendment supports cooperation between central government and local communities, many of which awaited the extension to better manage the realities of wartime reconstruction.

Law No. 4321-XI removes the disruptive 2025 cut-off and provides three more years of legal certainty for development projects. Businesses and municipalities should use this time wisely by launching reconstruction initiatives today while adopting comprehensive and strategic planning documents that will guide Ukraine’s urban development over the long term.

For more information on Ukraine’s construction sector, contact your CMS client partner or our CMS Ukrainian experts: Natalia Kushniruk, Mykhaylo Soroka.