Kyiv Kiosk Dismantling: How the Capital Is Moving From Chaotic Street Trade to Auctions
Kyiv is continuing a large-scale dismantling of self-installed urban improvement objects. This is not only about kiosks, commonly referred to as small architectural forms, but also about temporary structures, pavilions, retail points, vending machines, parcel lockers, charging stations and other constructions placed in the urban space without proper documents.
Since the beginning of 2024, 5,794 urban improvement elements have already been dismantled in the capital. In 2024, 2,016 objects were removed, in 2025 3,240, and since the beginning of 2026 another 538. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, Kyivblagoustriy dismantled 369 such objects. Time for Action examined why dismantling in Kyiv has become part of a broader change in rules for small businesses, how the new auction-based system works, and why some of the dismantled points will no longer return to the market.
City authorities said last year that they intended to dismantle about 8,000 kiosks by 2026. The current figures show that the process has not stopped and has a systematic character. This is not the targeted removal of individual structures, but an attempt to change the approach to the use of urban space. The reason is clear for years, Kyiv accumulated a large number of objects that operated without proper registration or occupied locations without a transparent procedure. Some of these structures created visual chaos, blocked passages, affected urban improvement, while others effectively operated outside rules that were clear to everyone.
Now Kyiv is relying on a different model. In 2024, Kyiv City Council approved a new procedure for using urban improvement elements to place temporary structures. The right to install retail points, parcel lockers, vending machines, charging stations and other objects must be granted through electronic auctions in the ProZorro.Sale system. This means that access to city locations should no longer be manual, but competitive. A business must participate in an auction, win the right to placement, sign a contract and operate legally. For the city, this model gives more transparent control over who uses public space, where and under what conditions.
For entrepreneurs, this change has two sides. On the one hand, an official path to legalization appears. After an illegal object is dismantled, a business can compete for a location through an auction and operate under a contract. On the other hand, old informal mechanisms are gradually losing force, and some points will not be able to return. This may be especially painful for small businesses in the food service sector. According to restaurant consultant Olha Nasonova, among more than 500 dismantled small architectural forms, 100 to 150 were food service objects. About one-third of them will no longer resume operations. For such entrepreneurs, dismantling means not just moving a kiosk, but the actual loss of a business or the need to start over. The dismantling procedure formally provides a short period for response. If inspectors detect an illegally installed structure, the owner receives an order and has three days to eliminate the violation. If this does not happen, the object is dismantled at the expense of the city budget. The scale of spending shows that this is an expensive administrative program. In 2025, Kyivblagoustriy received UAH 86,928.5 thousand from the budget for dismantling, transportation and storage of self-installed and ownerless small architectural forms, temporary structures and other objects. This is almost UAH 87 million, and such a sum underlines that chaotic placement of constructions is costly not only for business, but also for the city.
Court statistics are currently working in favor of the city authorities. In 2024-2026, 45 lawsuits were filed with the Department of Territorial Control over challenges to dismantling. Only in one case did the court rule against the city. This means that most dismantling decisions hold up legally, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for owners of illegal structures to stop the process through the courts. A separate part of the reform is the unification of the external appearance of temporary structures. Kyiv has already begun installing the first objects made according to approved archetypes. The first such structures appeared in the Pechersk district. The idea is that temporary structures should not only have documents, but also meet standards for appearance and dimensions. This matters for urban space. Small architectural forms and temporary structures are not always a problem in themselves. Chaos becomes the problem: when objects appear without rules, have different sizes, block movement, create visual overload or operate where the city did not plan commercial activity. The new system is meant to replace spontaneity with controlled order.
At the same time, the risk remains. If auctions become too expensive or complicated for small businesses, some entrepreneurs simply will not be able to legalize. Then the city will get cleaner space, but lose part of small trade and accessible services near metro stations, stops, residential areas and office districts. That is why the success of this model will depend not only on the number of dismantled objects. It matters whether Kyiv can offer clear, transparent and realistic conditions for those ready to work legally. Dismantling an illegal kiosk by itself does not yet create order. Order appears when, after dismantling, a fair and accessible procedure for new placement works. The capital is now effectively going through a transition stage. The old model, in which many objects existed for years without proper registration, is gradually being removed. The new model is being built through auctions, contracts, appearance standards and control. For the city, this is a chance to organize space and reduce the shadow part of small business. For entrepreneurs, it is a test of their ability to move into a legal system. The main question now is not only how many kiosks will be dismantled by the end of the campaign. What matters more is whether the new system becomes truly transparent for all participants, not just formally correct. If auctions work openly, the rules are the same, and the standards are clear, Kyiv can get an organized urban space without completely pushing out small business. If not, dismantling will remain a painful cleanup without a sufficient replacement for those ready to work legally.
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