Assisted Living Law, 5772-2012

In this Law –

"assisted living home" – a cluster of apartments intended for the residence of residents, built in one building or in several adjacent buildings, in which services are offered to residents, in exchange for payment on their part, in addition to maintenance, cleaning or security services;

"application in the matter of an Order" – an application to extend the validity of an administrative restriction order under section 38(g), an application to cancel an administrative restriction order under section 39, or an application for the grant of a judicial restriction order under section 40;

"resident" – a person who has attained the age of sixty years and resides in an apartment in an assisted living home, and also that person's spouse residing with him or her in the apartment;

"apartment" – a room or set of rooms intended to serve as a complete and separate residential unit in which an independent household may be maintained;

"criminal proceedings" – commencing with the filing of an indictment;

"engagement agreement" – as the term is defined in section 16;

"residents' committee" – as the term is defined in section 35;

"Penal Law" – the Penal Law, 5737-1977;

"Consumer Price Index" – the Consumer Price Index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;

"medical institution" – as defined in section 24 of the Public Health Ordinance;

"attorney" – as the term is defined in section 34(a);

"nursing ward" – a medical institution in which nursing patients as defined under the Public Health Ordinance are hospitalised;

"the Commissioner" – the Commissioner for Assisted Living Homes, appointed under section 47;

"manager", of an assisted living home – the person who is in practice responsible for the day-to-day management of the assisted living home;

"disclosure document" – as the term is defined in section 17;

"inspector" – a person appointed by the Minister as an inspector under section 36;

"Ministry of Welfare" – the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services;

"deposit" – a payment made by a resident to the holder of an operating licence pursuant to an engagement agreement, including as security for the resident's compliance with the terms of the engagement agreement, which, in accordance with the terms of the engagement agreement, the holder of the operating licence is required to return, in whole or in part, to the resident upon termination of the engagement, less any amount deducted from that payment in accordance with the provisions of the engagement agreement and the law;

"Public Health Ordinance" – the Public Health Ordinance, 1940;

"district physician" – as defined in the Public Health Ordinance;

"operating licence", "licence" – a licence for the operation of an assisted living home granted under Chapter II;

"control" – as defined in the Securities Law, 5728-1968;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Welfare and Social Services.

No person shall operate an assisted living home unless an operating licence has been granted to that person in respect of that assisted living home under this Chapter and subject to the conditions of the licence and the provisions under this Law.

in this paragraph –

"usage approval" – an unconditional and unreserved written approval, signed by the owner of the real property or the third party in whose favour the real property was charged, as the case may be, in which that person approves the licence applicant's use of the real property for the purpose of operating an assisted living home and also that the provisions of section 29 apply to that person;

"long-term lessee" – a lessee of the real property for a period of at least twenty years;

If the Commissioner has found that criminal proceedings are being conducted against a licence applicant or against the manager of an assisted living home in respect of which the licence or its renewal is applied for, and if the licence applicant is a corporation – also against the controlling shareholder of the corporation or its director, on suspicion of committing an offence as referred to in section 4(a)(2), the Commissioner may, after having given the licence applicant an opportunity to present arguments, defer the decision on the grant or renewal of the licence, as the case may be, until the conclusion of such proceedings.

The Commissioner may refuse to grant an operating licence or to renew one, for reasons to be communicated to the licence applicant and after having given the licence applicant an opportunity to present arguments, even if the conditions set out in section 4 are met, if the Commissioner has found that there exist circumstances by reason of which the licence applicant is not fit to receive a licence.

An operating licence, including any right conferred thereby, is not transferable, unless prior written approval has been given by the Commissioner and subject to the conditions prescribed by the Commissioner; such approval shall be given if the Commissioner is satisfied that all the conditions required for the grant of an operating licence are met in the transferee.

The holder of an operating licence shall notify the Commissioner, in writing, of any change in a particular of the particulars provided under section 3, within thirty days of the date of the change.