Using Russian in a homeowners' association chat on Viber may violate the language law
Communication between representatives of homeowners’ associations and co-owners must take place in Ukrainian. This also applies to Viber chats if they are used as an official channel of communication for residents.
As explained by Yelyzaveta Sachura, a representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, a homeowners’ association is a legal entity; therefore, its officials must comply with language laws while performing their official duties.
At the same time, this requirement does not apply to private communications among residents. In other words, people may use any language in a chat as long as they are not communicating in the course of performing their official duties for the HOA.
Sachura also cited a case in the Cherkasy region. The head of an HOA communicated with co-owners in Russian in a work-related Viber chat, which was effectively the only channel of communication. Following an investigation, he was issued a warning and given 30 days to remedy the violation of Article 30 of the Language Law.
In the event of a violation of the right to receive information in Ukrainian, residents may file complaints with the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language.
Source: Yelyzaveta Sachura, representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language
The requirement to use the Ukrainian language applies not only to classroom instruction but also to communication among teachers, students, and parents, provided it relates to the organization of the educational process. For violations of language legislation, parents, in particular, may face a warning or a fine of up to 11,900 hryvnias.
In the first half of 2026, specialists from the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection identified 1,075 violations of the specific requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Advertising” and opened corresponding cases.
