About 500,000 Ukrainians rented housing in the western regions of the country during the war, Yuriy Pita, president of the Association of Real Estate Specialists (Realtors) of Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the association and local authorities, most of the forced migrants who plan to stay in the country and do not plan further emigration are concentrated in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Zakarpattia, Ternopil, Khmelnytsky, Volyn, and Chernivtsi regions.

"According to the most conservative estimates, the number of people who rented housing in the western regions of Ukraine [they rented it, and did not live in the premises provided by volunteers] is from 500,000 people," Pita said.

According to the association, more than 35% of internally displaced persons renting housing are concentrated in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk regions; in Zakarpattia, Ternopil – 10-12% each, and in Volyn, Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsi, Rivne, and Vinnytsia regions – 10% each.

"As for Vinnytsia, many migrants stay in the city for one or two days, then move on," Pita said.

According to him, currently it can be said that more than 60% of IDPs rent housing without being tied to specific terms and plan to stay in rented apartments from one to three months.

At the same time, Pita said that the wholesale increase in rental rates is a myth, in 80% of cases, rental prices remain at the level of late January - early February.

"But due to the obvious shortage of high-quality apartments equipped with everything necessary, there are cases when prices are doubled. There are cases when IDPs from Chernihiv are offered an apartment costing $100-150 per day. But this is done covertly, since the public and local authorities are very negative about such deals," Pita said.

As Oleksandr Lakhtionov, former head of the regional department of the Association of Real Estate Specialists (Realtors) of Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine, about 10% of offers from owners in Ivano-Frankivsk are free for people fleeing the war. At the same time, according to him, prices for other positions have increased significantly. "Prices are rising, first of all, precisely because of customers who call the owners and offer a higher fee than on the portals, so that they can be settled and previous tenants be evicted. Many rich people have come to the region, who want comfort," he said.

More often in Ivano-Frankivsk they rent housing for a month or two.

Oleksandr Liashuk, a member of the association's council in Rivne, told the agency that 817 migrants were received in the region in the last 24 hours.

"In total, more than 4,000 people have received asylum since the start of hostilities. Of these, 3,229 people have remained in the region for a long time," he said.

Liashuk drew attention to the need for registration for forced evacuees from other regions.

"First of all, registration is the safety of displaced persons and the safety of those who provide them with housing. The list of migrants is needed for the State Emergency Service in case of serious hostilities. Already now, those registered can receive humanitarian assistance, and in the future, the displaced persons will receive IDP certificates, assistance and benefits," he explained.

The Association of Real Estate Specialists (Realtors) of Ukraine once again draws attention to the fact that all services for assistance in the resettlement of refugees are provided by the association's specialists free of charge. In addition, members of the association work closely with local authorities to suppress the facts of unlawfully inflated rental prices.

"Now the association's realtors have become a kind of 'real estate police:' they help resettle, identify suspicious persons trying to rent housing, and, of course, participate in the 'logistics' of human flows," Pita added.