Ukrainian condominium association heads must use Ukrainian in work chats

A condominium association head in Cherkasy Oblast recently received an official warning for violating Article 30 of Ukraine’s law On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language, Sachura said.

A state inspection found that the head of the association, known in Ukraine by the acronym OSBB, had communicated with co-owners of the apartment building in a Viber chat using a language other than Ukrainian.

The association head argued that communication with residents was a private matter.

Sachura said, however, that an OSBB is a legal entity and that a work chat used as the main communication channel between its head and apartment owners serves as part of the head’s official duties.

Information provided to co-owners through such communication must therefore be in Ukrainian, she said.

Article 30 of Ukraine’s language law regulates the use of the state language in the service sector.

The condominium association head was issued a warning and ordered to correct the violation within 30 days.

If the violation is not corrected, or if another violation is recorded within one year, the head may face a fine.

Sachura said similar situations could arise in other condominium associations.

Ukraine had more than 40,000 associations of co-owners of apartment buildings as of the end of 2024, according to publicly available data.

“Such behavior by condominium association heads may stem from false stereotypes, an information vacuum, a lack of legal awareness or something worse,” Sachura said.

“If your right as a co-owner to receive services in the state language is violated, document the violation and file a complaint. The language of a community is about both rules and mutual respect.”