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102 The US-Israel Legal Review 2019
ISRAEL: REAL ESTATE
THE SELLER’S RIGHTS IN THE PROPERTY
In general, the rights registry is conducted by the
Land Registry Office.
The Land Registry Office conducts a
computerized registry, which includes maps
indicating the boundaries and ownership of each
plot. Approximately 95% of the land in Israel has
been checked for boundaries and ownership, and
with respect to this land, the records of the Land
Registry Office constitute conclusive evidence. In
special cases, it can be proven that a title is not as
shown in the Registry. For land that has not yet
undergone a formal governmental procedure of land
settlement, Land Registry records are prima facie
evidence only, and in some cases, further evidence of
the seller’s title may be required.
The standard records of the Land Registry
(known by the Ottoman name “
Tabu
”) do not include
details of surface area of the plot or buildings
situated there. However, the Land Registry Offices
maintain a separate database for buildings with
more than one unit (apartment, shop, hall, storage
room) where each unit is recorded separately (as
a sub-plot). Such buildings are registered in the
Registry of Cooperative Houses (
Mirsham Ha-Batim
Ha-Meshutafim
), but many buildings in Israel have
not yet been registered there.
Any person, regardless of any connection to the
property, may obtain a copy of the Land Registry
records, known in Hebrew as a
nesakh
. Such a
printout would include, among other things, the
identity of the owners, boundaries, size, mortgages,
liens, encumbrances, various notes regarding sale to
third parties, etc.
When a unit in a building that has not yet been
registered as a cooperative house is purchased, a
scheme certifying that the buyer is indeed the owner
of the transacted property must be produced. In
some cases, the documents from the first sale by
the developer to the first purchaser must be located,
which in most cases include the scheme of the
transacted property.
Approximately 92%of the land in Israel is owned
by the government. Much of the land is leased to
contractors, who build and sell units to buyers
(apartments, offices, shops, etc.), but a large portion
of the new land is leased to contractors pursuant to
maps that conflict with Land Registry records.
Consequently, the State of Israel, through the
Israel Lands Authority (“ILA”), conducts a parallel
registry – in addition to records maintained by the
building contractors. Such provisional records may
be maintained for decades, until the Land Registry
records are updated. In such case, the buyer must
obtain information about the leasehold from both
the ILA and the contracting company that built the
building in which the purchased property is located.
PLANNING STATUS INFORMATION
Planning status inquiries must be made with the
municipality in which the property is located. The
inquiry should include permitted use pursuant to
the applicable city plan, in order to make sure that
the property has been used as permitted by law. For
example, in some cases, such inquiries have found
that the property sold as a residential apartment,
was designated in the city plan to serve for storage
or laundry room, or that property sold as office
space, was designated to be used for commercial
purposes. In such cases, the owner can be indicted
for unlawful use, and such use may be stopped and
fines may be imposed.
Thorough lawyers would also check whether
new plans have been approved with regard to the
property or its area, which might adversely affect
the value of the property or, conversely, cause its
value to go up; whether unexercised building rights
exist (if so, an architect must be consulted as to
whether such rights can be exercised in connection
with the purchased property); whether local or city
plans have been issued, which, if approved, might
affect the property or its value; whether the building
in which the property is located is used in any way
Approximately 92%of the
land in Israel is owned by the
government, withmuch of the
land leased to contractors.