Ukraine's most expensive rental market is not Kyiv. It's a small city near the Slovak border

In a country at war, the most expensive place to rent an apartment is not the capital. It is Uzhhorod, a small city on Ukraine's western border with Slovakia, where families are paying a premium for something increasingly difficult to find elsewhere: a peaceful night's sleep.

The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Uzhhorod has reached 37,300 hryvnias (roughly $900), according to housing platform LUN - more than twice the 17,000 hryvnias recorded in Kyiv.

Rents have risen 89% over the past year, with the sharpest increase occurring in recent months as intensified Russian attacks and warnings of a difficult winter have prompted more Ukrainians to move west.

Demand has surged even as available housing has become scarcer.

According to figures provided to hromadske by OLX Real Estate, the average number of responses to a one-bedroom rental listing in Uzhhorod rose from 18 in June to 53 in September. Meanwhile, the number of available listings fell by roughly a third.

A safer city under pressure

Before Russia's full-scale invasion, Uzhhorod had a population of just over 115,000. Today, the city has 28,000 officially registered internally displaced residents, according to its mayor, although the actual number of newcomers may be higher.

The influx has placed growing pressure on roads, water and sewage systems, and housing.

Construction has accelerated. According to local outlet Varosh, 83 apartment buildings have been completed in Uzhhorod since 2022, with another 26 under construction.

But new developments have not kept pace with demand for homes that families can afford to rent.

Local real estate agent Roman Perehynets said his agency had no rental properties left available when hromadske spoke to him.

He said one-bedroom apartments now generally start at around $500 a month, while modern two-bedroom apartments can rent for $900 to $1,000.

Some online listings advertise one-bedroom apartments for as much as $1,500 or $2,000. Perehynets questioned whether those prices reflected genuine transactions, suggesting some listings could be misleading.

The price of safety

For Yuliia Dzhusupova, who moved from the Kyiv suburbs with her children in July, the decision was painful but necessary.

Russian attacks had made everyday life increasingly difficult. Her children were frequently sleeping in shelters or missing school, while her own health was deteriorating.

Her family now stays in housing provided by a Protestant church, paying less than 10,000 hryvnias a month including utilities. Without that arrangement, she said, they could not afford local market rents.

She described seeing modern apartments advertised for 30,000 hryvnias a month or more, with landlords often reluctant to accept tenants with children or pets.

"I feel that this is not my home. But I have to be here because it is safe for my children," she told hromadske.

Her children no longer flinch at air raid alerts, she said, and her older daughter is doing better at school.

During the interview, her young son suddenly ran over to point out an airplane in the sky. Just across the nearby Slovak border, commercial flights continue to operate - an ordinary sight that has become extraordinary for many Ukrainian children.

Real shortages, amplified outrage

The housing crisis has also fueled resentment online, with some social media users accusing Uzhhorod property owners of exploiting people displaced by war.

Others argue that wealthy newcomers have driven up prices by offering more than landlords initially requested.

Local real estate professionals interviewed by hromadske said competition among prospective tenants was a major factor, leaving families with smaller budgets at a disadvantage.

The debate has also attracted accounts spreading inflammatory narratives.

Hromadske identified at least 50 posts across Telegram and YouTube channels promoting claims about exorbitant rents in western Ukraine, with nearly three million combined views. Some repeatedly used the same images of unusually expensive listings.

The underlying housing shortage, however, is real.

Residents and property professionals also raised concerns about rapid construction, limited green space and infrastructure struggling to accommodate the city's growth.

Perehynets suggested that people considering a move to Zakarpattia look beyond Uzhhorod to smaller towns such as Mukachevo, Khust and Rakhiv.

For those who have already moved, the calculation is more personal than financial.

Uzhhorod may be expensive, crowded and unfamiliar. But for families whose children have spent years living under Russian attacks, the chance to sleep without fear can outweigh almost everything else.

Based on reporting by Oksana Ivanytska for hromadske.