Around 40 percent of Lithuanians opened their homes to host refugees from Ukraine for periods ranging from 2 to 6 months. The survey conducted by IOM Lithuania unveiled that 35% of those surveyed mentioned that refugees continue to reside in the provided accommodation. Approximately 17 percent of respondents housed refugees for 6 to 12 months, whereas a mere 9 per cent of participants offered accommodation for one month. These findings emerged from a survey involving nearly 1200 homeowners who extended accommodation to Ukrainian refugees. 

"Amidst the war's outbreak, the issue of accommodating Ukrainians was likely one of the most pressing. People were leaving Ukraine without any plan, so both IOM Lithuania and other organizations received numerous requests to help find housing, at least in the initial stages. Lithuanians actively welcomed Ukrainians into their homes. Together with Airbnb, we managed to ensure short-term accommodation while war refugees searched for permanent residences. We carried out this program for half a year, providing almost 1300 safe nights. Now, we have decided to conduct a study to ascertain the accommodation needs and the challenges faced by war refugees in search of long-term housing," says Eglė Staškūnaitė, representative of IOM Lithuania.

66 percent of surveyed homeowners indicated that they utilized the state-provided assistance for individuals who had taken in Ukrainian war refugees. 34 percent of respondents noted that they did not utilize the assistance, of which 63 percent stated they were aware of such aid but decided to help Ukrainians without state-provided support. 14 percent were unaware of the assistance, 8 percent did not use it due to the lengthy document processing period, and 6 percent mentioned that Ukrainians resided in their provided housing for less than 3 months, rendering them ineligible for assistance. 

Slightly over 40 percent of respondents indicated that Ukrainians are currently not living in the provided housing, as they themselves decided to terminate the rental agreement. Another quarter of Ukrainians had to move out because homeowners were unwilling to extend their housing leases. "Homeowners who chose not to continue the rental agreement mentioned that they encountered disagreements with the hosted families, experienced certain losses, or simply no longer wished to participate in the program, although such cases were not numerous," explains Vilija Terezaitė, Senior Project Assistant at IOM Lithuania. 

Meanwhile, the participating Ukrainians in the survey stated that over 30 percent of war refugees who arrived in Lithuania settled in separate rented housing, 27 percent found accommodation within welcoming Lithuanian families using the "Strong Together" initiative, 17 percent stayed with family members or friends living in homes in Lithuania, another 18 percent resided in Refugee Centers or housing provided by municipalities. 

Moreover, even 45 percent of surveyed Ukrainian respondents who came to Lithuania indicated that they managed to find rental housing within one month, a quarter took up to three months, and 18 percent of Ukrainians rented housing within six months. Currently, one-third of Ukrainians reside in the same accommodation they settled in upon arriving in Lithuania. 26 percent are living in a second housing, 30 percent have changed residences twice, and 15 percent have changed three or more accommodations.  

"Ukrainians living in Lithuania are becoming increasingly self-reliant; they take care of their living arrangements, find jobs, and secure stable incomes to build their lives in our country. IOM Lithuania consistently conducts various studies, and from them, it's evident that the key aspect for Ukrainians in Lithuania is financial stability, which enables them to feel more stable in Lithuania," says Eglė Staškūnaitė. 

Links:

Results of the survey on homeowners who accommodated refugees from Ukraine

Results of the survey on the accommodation search experience of Ukrainian refugees in Lithuania