Copenhagen faces ongoing challenges in housing Ukrainian refugees and is forced to continue using hotels as temporary accommodation. The municipality is currently renting all 120 rooms at a hotel on Amager to house 115 displaced Ukrainians.
The cost of accommodation and catering, provided by the municipally owned Copenhagen Madservice, amounts to approximately 4.2 million kroner per month at the Best Western Plus Park Globetrotter Copenhagen Airport. This expenditure highlights the financial strain on the municipality due to the continuing influx of refugees.
Employment and Integration Mayor Jens-Kristian Lütken has expressed concerns about the municipality’s ability to find suitable housing for the Ukrainians, stating that the influx has not stopped, increasing the pressure to find temporary accommodation. He estimates that the municipality has enough capacity for this year, with Ukrainians also being housed in pavilion buildings and municipal buildings.
However, if the number of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Copenhagen continues at the current rate, the municipality may have to resort to renting hotel rooms again on a “large scale” in 2026. Lütken emphasizes that the municipality cannot build new temporary housing and that renting from private landlords is often too expensive.
The mayor also regrets the state rules that distribute Ukrainians to municipalities based on size, as Copenhagen has a limited number of vacant homes. He believes this distribution key forces the municipality to rent expensive hotel rooms, which he considers a less than ideal solution.
As of June 25, 2,801 Ukrainians are temporarily accommodated in the Municipality of Copenhagen. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, 5,248 Ukrainian displaced persons have been assigned to Copenhagen. The municipality is responsible for providing temporary housing, assisting with their stay, and helping them find employment and permanent housing.
Nationwide, as of March 31, 53,310 residence permits had been granted to Ukrainians under the special law, with just over 37,000 Ukrainians residing in municipalities. According to figures from February, 56 percent of Ukrainians aged 18-66 are in salaried employment.