Civil Defence Law, 5711-1951
חוק ההתגוננות האזרחית, תשי"א-1951
Published: 1951-03-21Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2024-11-07 · Last amended 2024-03-21✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Chapter III: Shelters
Interpretations§
11.
In this Chapter –
"industrial plant" means – a permanent structure or part thereof, which serves or is intended to serve as a place of work or place of business in which not fewer than ten persons work simultaneously or which is ordinarily visited by not fewer than twenty persons simultaneously;
"house" means – a permanent structure, structurally separate from other structures, which serves or is intended to serve as a place for persons to reside therein, except a structure that is wholly or mainly an industrial plant;
"condominium" – a condominium under the Land Law, 5729-1969;
"Tenant Protection Law" – the Tenant Protection Law [Consolidated Version], 5732-1972;
"owner of an industrial plant" means – the person who is in charge of the industrial plant;
"owner", in relation to a house or other place – the person who receives or is entitled to receive income from the place, or who would have received it had the place yielded income, whether in his own right or as agent or trustee, whether or not he is the registered owner, and in relation to a place in respect of which the lease period fixed in the lease contract is twenty-five years or more – the lessee of the place;
"competent authority" – the head of the Home Front Command, the district Home Front Command commander, or any person authorised in writing by the head of the Home Front Command to be a competent authority for the purposes of this Chapter or any provision thereof or of the Regulations made thereunder or any provision thereof;
"shelter" – a structure or other place fitted to serve as a shelter, all in accordance with the plan approved by the competent authority;
"public shelter" means – a shelter not designated for a particular house or a particular industrial plant;
"public refuge" means – a place that is not a shelter, but is intended to serve as a temporary refuge for the public during an hour of attack.
"place" – including vacant land;
"sub-lessee" – a person who holds a house, or part thereof, by virtue of a sub-lease for a continuous period of at least three years at the time at which the obligation of participation under this Chapter first applied to the head lessee, whether the sub-lease period was extended from time to time by agreement or was extended by virtue of the Tenant Protection Law, 5715-1955.
Application to the State§
11a.
(a)The provisions of this Chapter, except section 16, shall apply also to the State, and for the purposes of section 13, wherever "local authority" or "the local authority" appears, read "the Home Front Command".
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Minister of Defence may direct, on grounds of operational necessity, that in installations held by the Israel Defence Forces, shelters shall be constructed in accordance with provisions to be determined by him or by a person authorised by him to do so, generally or for a particular type of installation, or that such installations shall be exempt from the obligation to construct shelters; such provisions do not require publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette) and shall be brought to the knowledge of those concerned in the manner directed by the Minister of Defence or by a person authorised by him to do so.
Shelter Specifications§
11b.
A competent authority shall not approve a plan for the installation of a shelter or for its enlargement unless the plan conforms to the technical specifications and other specifications prescribed by Regulations generally, for a category of shelters or for a particular shelter; Regulations made pursuant to this section do not require publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette) but shall be brought to the knowledge of those concerned in the manner directed by the Minister of Defence.
Directives to a Local Authority§
12.
(a)A competent authority may direct any local authority within the area of operation of the competent authority –
(1)to install public shelters in the number, at the location and at the time to be determined by the competent authority, and to maintain them in a condition enabling their use at any time when there is a need therefor;
(2)to ensure the installation of shelters and their proper maintenance by house owners and owners of industrial plants, in accordance with the civil defence laws.
Public Refuges§
13.
(a)If a local authority is of the opinion that a particular place, all or part thereof, is suitable to serve as a public refuge, or will be suitable after construction or development works are completed therein, the local authority may deliver written notice to the owner of the place and to the person in charge thereof, stating that it intends to designate that place as a public refuge (in this section – notice); if in the opinion of the local authority repairs and alterations in the place are required in order for it to be suitable to serve as a public refuge, the notice shall specify the plan of alterations and repairs that it will carry out, and these shall be carried out at its expense; the local authority shall also bear all additional expenses incurred by reason of adapting the place to serve as a public refuge.
(b)A local authority shall not deliver a notice unless –
(1)a competent authority has approved that the place shall, after repairs and alterations or without them, take the place of a public shelter that the local authority is required to install pursuant to the directives of the competent authority;
(2)the repairs and alterations required in order for the place to be suitable to serve as a public refuge will not prevent the person in charge of the place from using it for the purpose it served prior to the notice.
(c)(Repealed)
(d)(Repealed)
(e)Once notice has been given in respect of a particular place and for so long as the notice has not been cancelled, the owner or the person in charge of the place shall not make, and shall not permit another to make, any alteration, repair or other act therein that is liable to impair the effective use of the place as a public refuge.
(f)(Repealed)
(g)Where a place has been designated as a public refuge, the owner of the place and the person in charge thereof are required –
(1)to permit a person authorised to do so by the local authority or the head of the Home Front Command to carry out in the place the repairs and alterations required to the extent specified in the notice;
(2)not to carry out therein, and not to permit another to carry out therein, any alteration, repair or other act that is liable to impair the effective use of the place as a public refuge, except with the approval of the local authority;
(3)to maintain the place fit for use as a public refuge at any time when there is a need therefor and to comply with the provisions of section 15(f), as if the place were a shelter.
Authority of the Head of the Home Front Command to Designate a Place as a Public Refuge§
13a.
(a)The head of the Home Front Command may direct a local authority to deliver, in respect of a particular place that he considers suitable to serve as a public refuge, a notice as referred to in section 13(a), and to carry out in that place the alterations and repairs that he shall specify and that are required for its preparation as a public refuge; if the local authority has not complied with the directive within the time prescribed therein, the head of the Home Front Command may himself, in place of the local authority, deliver the notice as aforesaid, and upon doing so, the local authority is required to carry out in that place the alterations and repairs specified in the notice of the head of the Home Front Command.
(b)If the local authority has not carried out the repairs and alterations as aforesaid within a reasonable time, the head of the Home Front Command may direct that they be carried out; the expenses thereof shall constitute a debt owed to the Home Front Command by the local authority, and section 10a(b) shall apply thereto.
(c)Where notice has been delivered by the head of the Home Front Command that he intends to designate a particular place as a public refuge, section 13 shall apply to the notice as if it were a notice pursuant to that section.
(d)This section shall not derogate from the powers of the local authority under section 13.
Installation of Shelters in Houses and Industrial Plants§
14.
(a)In every house or adjacent thereto there shall be a shelter serving principally the residents of the house and persons who ordinarily visit it.
(b)In every industrial plant or adjacent thereto there shall be a shelter serving principally the workers of the industrial plant and persons who ordinarily visit it.
(c)No permit shall be granted pursuant to any law dealing with planning and construction for the construction of a house or a structure that is wholly or mainly an industrial plant, or for the construction of an addition thereto, unless –
(1)the construction plan in respect of which the permit is to be granted includes the installation of a shelter for the house, structure or addition thereto, or the plan of the addition thereto includes the enlargement of the existing shelter as approved by the competent authority, or an exemption from the obligation to construct or enlarge the shelter has been granted pursuant to this section;
(2)in a house or industrial plant belonging to categories prescribed by Regulations – the competent authority has approved that the structure of the stairwell, and if according to the plan there is to be another passage leading to the shelter – also the structure of that passage, conform to the technical and other specifications prescribed by Regulations as aforesaid;
(3)the construction plan in respect of which the permit is to be granted complies with the provisions pursuant to section 14d;
where the plan includes the installation of a shelter or its enlargement, the conditions of the permit shall prescribe that the shelter may not be used without a licence from the competent authority except as a refuge during an hour of attack.
(d)Where a house exists and it has no shelter, the owner of the house is required to install one in that house or adjacent thereto at the time and in the place to be determined by the local authority in a written directive.
(e)Where an industrial plant exists and it has no shelter, the owner of the industrial plant is required to install one in that industrial plant or adjacent thereto at the time and in the place to be determined by the local authority in a written directive. This obligation applies to the owner of an industrial plant even if a shelter has been installed in the structure in which the industrial plant is located, serving the residents of the structure or another industrial plant.
(f)The owner of a house and the owner of an industrial plant are each required to carry out, in their respective shelter, every repair and alteration as required in writing by the local authority, in order to enable the use of the shelter at any time as a refuge against an attack, provided that the time for carrying out the repairs and alterations shall not be set at less than fifteen days from the day of delivery of the requirement; however, if the requirement was made after a special home front situation was declared, the time for its compliance may be shorter, as shall be determined by the head of the Home Front Command.
(g)A local authority, with the approval of the competent authority, may –
(1)exempt particular house owners from the obligation to install a separate shelter for each house, on condition that those house owners install a shelter to be used jointly for their houses, or without that condition, if it considers that the conditions of the place or other circumstances justify doing so; where an exemption as referred to in this paragraph is granted without requiring the construction of a joint shelter, the provisions of paragraph (3) shall apply, with the necessary modifications;
(2)exempt the owner of an industrial plant from the obligation to install a shelter, if such owner proves to its satisfaction that in the structure in which the industrial plant is located, or adjacent thereto, there is a shelter that can serve as a refuge also for the workers of the industrial plant and visitors thereto, and that there is convenient access from the industrial plant to that shelter.
(2a)to exempt an industrial plant from the obligation to install a separate shelter for that industrial plant, if it installs, together with the owner of another industrial plant, a shelter to be used jointly for their industrial plants, provided that the conditions of the place in which the industrial plants are located permit this;
(3)to exempt a house owner or the owner of an industrial plant who is constructing an addition to the house or industrial plant from the obligation to install a shelter or to enlarge the existing shelter, if one of the following has been proved to its satisfaction:
(a)it is not possible to construct or enlarge the existing shelter on the property in respect of which the building addition is sought, provided that the applicant has participated in a fund whose monies are designated for the construction, improvement or enlargement of public shelters (hereinafter – the Fund), and that the provisions regarding its establishment, its financial sources and the procedures for supervision of its operations shall be prescribed by Regulations pursuant to section 27(b)(6); the amount of participation in the Fund shall not exceed the cost of constructing or enlarging the shelter on the property;
(b)the conditions of the place or other circumstances justify granting an exemption, including, inter alia, that in that house or industrial plant there is a shelter that will be able to serve as a refuge also for the persons in charge of the building addition, for those working therein and for those who ordinarily visit it, and that they will have convenient access to the shelter; an exemption pursuant to this sub-paragraph may be conditional upon participation in the Fund as referred to in sub-paragraph (a), in accordance with conditions to be prescribed by Regulations;
(4)(Repealed)
(h)Where the local authority has directed in writing that a shelter be installed to serve jointly for several houses or several industrial plants, the provisions of this section shall apply to the house owners or industrial plant owners as if they were joint owners of a house or industrial plant in respect of which there is an obligation to install a shelter in or adjacent thereto.
(i)
(1)A person required under this Law to install a shelter on real property or to carry out a repair or alteration therein, who is in charge of the place designated for the installation of the shelter, may do so notwithstanding the right of another in the real property, and may also apply for the necessary licences, notwithstanding any enactment or any agreement, and may enter, he or his agents, any real property to which entry is required for this purpose;
(2)Where the person required to install a shelter on real property, or to carry out repairs or alterations therein, is not both the owner and the person in charge of the place, written notice of the local authority's directive to install a shelter or to carry out alterations therein shall be delivered to the owner or to the person in charge or to both, as the case may be;
(3)(Repealed)
(j)A person entitled to enter real property pursuant to subsection (i) shall, before entering, take all reasonable measures in the circumstances of the matter to obtain the consent of the person in charge of the real property to his entry, and if he has not succeeded in obtaining such consent, he shall not make his first entry except in the company of an employee of the local authority appointed for that purpose by the head of the local authority, and shall not use force for the purpose of entry except in the company of such a person.
(k)A person who has entered real property as aforesaid shall take all reasonable measures in the circumstances of the matter to safeguard the property at the place.
(l)The head of the Home Front Command may direct a local authority to exercise any of its powers under subsections (d), (e) and (f) regarding the installation and maintenance of a shelter by a particular house owner or owner of an industrial plant; if the local authority has not complied with the directive within the time prescribed therein, a competent authority may, for the purposes of implementing the directive, exercise that same power in place of the local authority.
(m)In this section, "enlargement" – including the installation of a ventilation and filtration system.
Maintenance of Shelters in a House and in an Enterprise§
14a.
(a)The residents of a house and the owner of an enterprise are each required to clear from the shelter of the house or the enterprise all movable property therein – except for movable property that the civil defence laws require, or permit, to be kept therein – to maintain cleanliness therein and to keep it in a condition that enables its use at all times as a refuge from attack.
(b)Where a person uses a shelter by virtue of a licence under section 15(a), the obligations under subsection (a) shall apply to the licence holder; however, subject to the conditions of the licence and to the provisions of section 21(b), the licence holder is permitted to keep in the shelter the movable property required for the purpose for which the licence was granted.
(c)Where movable property in the shelter belongs to a person who is neither a resident of the house nor the owner of the enterprise and not a licence holder as referred to in subsection (b), the obligation to clear it shall also apply to that person.
(d)Where a shelter has not been cleared of movable property by the person obligated to clear it under this section, the local authority or an employee thereof authorised for that purpose by the head of the authority may clear the movable property from the shelter, after the person obligated has been given written notice thereof at least 15 days before the act; the clearance carried out by the local authority or an employee thereof as aforesaid does not derogate from the criminal and civil liability of the person obligated to carry out the clearance.
(e)Movable property cleared from the shelter shall be dealt with in accordance with section 21a; however, the power of the head of the Home Front Command thereunder shall also vest in the head of the local authority, the secretary, the treasurer or the engineer of the authority, if the head of the authority has authorised them to that effect, and in an authority that is not a regional council – also in the deputy head of the authority, and in a regional council – also in the deputy head of the authority as designated by the head of the authority.
(f)Where there are several residents in one house or several enterprises in one building, and the house or building is not registered as a condominium, the expenses involved in fulfilling the obligation to maintain the shelter shall be apportioned, in the absence of an agreement thereon, in accordance with the following provisions:
(1)in a house – among the residents thereof, according to the number of rooms in each apartment;
(2)in enterprises – among their owners, according to the number of employees employed by each of them at the time of fulfilment of the obligation.
(g)For the purposes of this section, a house owner who personally resides in the house or part thereof, or who is in actual possession thereof, shall have the same status as a resident.
Construction on Vacant Land§
14b.
Where the place in respect of which a notice was given under section 13 or a directive was given under section 14 is vacant land, the giving of the notice or directive does not prevent the erection of a house or enterprise on that place, provided that the requisite building permit has been obtained and the recipient of the permit has given written notice of its receipt to the local authority.
Digging of Trenches§
14c.
(a)The Minister of Defence, with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe by Regulations that a district Home Front Command commander may call upon categories of persons to dig trenches for civil defence and may prescribe therein conditions for such a call; a person so called who is harmed in the course of and as a result of carrying out his duty shall have the same status as a border injury victim within the meaning of the Allowances to Border Injury Victims Law, 5717-1956, and the injury shall have the same status as a border injury within the meaning of that Law; a person so called who is harmed on the 26th of Iyar 5727 (5 June 1967) or thereafter in the course of and as a result of carrying out his duty shall have the same status as an injured person under the Allowances for Victims of Hostile Action Law, 5730-1970, and the provisions of that Law shall apply to him and to those dependent upon him.
(b)The directives of the Minister of Defence pursuant to Regulations under subsection (a) and a call to dig trenches as referred to therein do not require publication in Reshumot (Official Gazette), provided that they are brought to the knowledge of those concerned by any means of publication that appears appropriate to the district Home Front Command commander.
Accessibility Adaptations in Shelters for Persons with Disabilities§
14d.
(a)In this section –
"person with a disability", "persons with disabilities", "authorised accessibility officer for buildings, infrastructure and environment", "accessibility", "Commission" – as defined in the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law;
"Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law" – the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 5758-1998.
(b)A shelter in a house, an enterprise or another building, as well as a public shelter and a public refuge, in respect of which the permit was granted after the 13th of Nisan 5767 (1 April 2007) (hereinafter – the determining date), including the route and means of access thereto (in this section – shelter), shall be accessible to persons with disabilities, in accordance with the provisions prescribed by the Minister of Defence under this section and in the spirit of the fundamental principles and objectives of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law.
(c)The Minister of Defence shall prescribe the accessibility adaptations required to enable a person with a disability to access a shelter and to move within a shelter, in a reasonable manner, taking into account the Israeli standard and the provisions of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law; in Regulations under this subsection the Minister may prescribe full or partial exemption, including reduced requirements, for categories of cases, in respect of a specific adaptation whose cost is high, where carrying out the adaptation would impose an excessively heavy burden, taking into account, inter alia, each of the following:
(1)the size of the shelter or of the building in which it is located;
(2)the type of the house or building and the number of persons who regularly visit it;
(3)whether the shelter or the building in which it is located is part of an existing building or an addition to an existing building;
provided that a suitable and accessible alternative response shall be provided for persons with disabilities in the same building, and in respect of a shelter built in a building that existed before the determining date – an alternative response shall be provided in the same building or in a building adjacent to it, provided that the possibility of reaching the adjacent alternative shelter does not impose a burden on a person with a disability.
(d)
(1)Regulations under this section shall be prescribed after consultation with the Minister of the Interior, the Commission and organisations engaged in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, with the approval of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset, and in accordance with the fundamental principles, objectives and provisions of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law; the first Regulations under subsection (c) shall be submitted for approval by the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset no later than the 3rd of Iyar 5766 (1 May 2006);
(2)Regulations under this section shall be made with the consent of the Minister of Finance; however, if the Minister of Finance has not given consent, the matter shall be referred for decision by the Government.
(e)
(1)A person who is obligated to install an adaptation under subsections (b) and (c) shall be exempt from carrying out that adaptation if the competent authority has determined, after consultation with an authorised accessibility officer for buildings, infrastructure and environment, any of the following:
(a)the exemption is required in order to prevent substantial harm to the special character of the place in which the shelter is located, due to its uniqueness by virtue of archaeological or natural values;
(b)the adaptation requires a fundamental change in the nature of the place in which the shelter is located;
(c)one of the exemption provisions enumerated in section 19m(a)(1) or (2) of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law applies;
(2)Where the competent authority has determined an exemption as referred to in paragraph (1), it shall direct that alternative accessibility adaptations be carried out that are reasonable in the circumstances of the case, provided that the alternative directives do not impose a burden on a person with a disability.
(f)Without derogating from the provisions of this Law –
(1)Sections XII, XIII and XIV of Chapter V-A of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, including in respect of the power of a court to award compensation without proof of damage as referred to in section 19ay(b), shall apply to the provisions of this section; however, those sections shall not apply against owners of residential apartments and persons residing therein;
(2)For the purpose of implementing the provisions of section 19aq of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law as applied in paragraph (1), the Commissioner or an inspector authorised under section 26c of that Law shall be vested with the powers enumerated in section 26d of that Law, and the provisions of section 26e of that Law shall apply in that regard.
Use of Shelters§
15.
(a)No person shall use a shelter for any purpose other than to take refuge therein during an attack, except under a licence from the competent authority.
(b)No person shall make available, without a licence from the competent authority, a place designated to serve as a shelter under any enactment, to another person, by way of sale, lease, permission or in any other manner, if that person knows or can know, in the circumstances of the case, that the place will be used by the other person otherwise than solely for the purpose of taking refuge therein during an attack, unless such other use has been permitted by the competent authority under this section.
(c)It shall be a good defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (b) if that person proves that a written document was drawn up in respect of the transaction by virtue of which the place was made available to another person, specifying that the place is intended to serve as a shelter and that any other use thereof is prohibited except under a licence from the competent authority, and that the document or a copy thereof was delivered to the other person before the place was made available to that person.
(d)An agreement to make a shelter available to another person in contravention of the prohibition in subsection (b) is void, and each party to the agreement is required to return what was received by virtue of the agreement, or, if it cannot be returned in kind, its value; however, if that agreement was only part of a transaction, the court may, if it considers that the other parts of the transaction are severable, uphold the parts of the transaction that do not involve a breach of the prohibition in subsection (b), all on such terms as the court considers just in the circumstances of the case.
(e)No person shall demolish a shelter except under a licence from the competent authority.
(f)The person in possession of a place that is a shelter is required, during an attack, to allow any person in the vicinity of the place to enter the shelter and to remain therein throughout the duration of the attack.
(g)The head of the Home Front Command may prescribe directives regarding the manner of use of a public shelter or a public refuge, and rules of conduct for persons present therein for the purpose of shelter. These directives need not be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette), but shall be displayed in a visible manner at the entrance to the place or within the place to which they apply.
Provisions Regarding a Place Designated to Serve as a Shelter for a House§
16.
(a)The person in possession of a place that, in the opinion of the local authority, is required to serve as a shelter for a house, is required to permit the installation of the shelter.
(b)Where the local authority is of the opinion that the said shelter cannot be installed except after the place has been vacated, the local authority may direct in writing the person in possession of the place to vacate it within a period to be determined, provided that no less than fifteen days from the date of delivery of the directive shall be determined; during a special home front situation, a vacating directive as aforesaid shall, for all purposes, have the same status as a vacating judgment of a Magistrate's Court that is no longer subject to appeal.
(c)A local authority shall not give a vacating directive as aforesaid in respect of a place serving as a place of residence, a place of work or a place of business of the person in possession thereof, unless an alternative arrangement has been guaranteed to the person in possession that will be at that person's disposal at the time when the place must be vacated; however, this condition shall not apply to a place that is part of an apartment or of a place of work or of a place of business in the possession of that same person in possession, and the vacating of that part does not substantially prejudice the residential, working or business conditions of the person in possession.
(cc) Where no agreement has been reached between the local authority and the person in possession regarding an alternative arrangement, either of them may apply to a Magistrate's Court with a request to determine it, and the court may determine that the alternative arrangement shall consist of making available to the person in possession an alternative place reasonably capable of serving the purpose served by the place to be vacated, or of payment of compensation; provided that the court shall not determine payment of compensation alone as the alternative arrangement except with the consent of the person in possession, or in a case where the person in possession refuses to consent thereto without reasonable cause.
(d)For the purpose of applying the provisions of subsections (b) and (c), the following rules shall apply:
(1)the justified needs of the person in possession of the place, on the one hand, and the needs of civil defence, on the other hand, are to be taken into account;
(2)the fact that the alternative place made available to the person in possession is smaller in area or less convenient than the place to be vacated does not, in itself, determine that the place made available is not reasonably capable of serving the purpose served by the place to be vacated.
(e)Where a place in a house has been vacated pursuant to a directive under subsection (b), the persons in possession of the remaining parts of the house as residents are required to pay the house owner the rent that would have been received for the vacated place.
(f)When a place ceases to serve as a shelter, the house owner is required to restore it to its condition prior to the installation of the shelter, and the person who was in possession of the place and vacated it pursuant to a directive under subsection (b) may, within one month from the day on which the place ceased to serve as a shelter, resume possession thereof, after vacating the alternative place made available to that person.
Right of Withdrawal§
17.
(a)The person in possession of a place designated to serve as a public refuge or to which section 16 applies may, within thirty days from the date on which notice thereof was delivered to that person, vacate the place and withdraw from the rights therein by delivering written notice, after the vacation, to the local authority and to the owner of the place; the day of delivery of the withdrawal notice shall be regarded as the day of withdrawal, and if the notice was delivered to the local authority and to the owner of the place on different days, the later day shall be regarded as the day of withdrawal.
(b)Where the person in possession has withdrawn, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)the person in possession is exempt from any obligation imposed upon that person, by law, by contract or otherwise, to pay the owner the rent for the place or any other consideration in respect of the period following the day of withdrawal; and if the person in possession paid the owner of the place, before the day of withdrawal, rent or any other consideration in respect of a certain period following the day of withdrawal, the owner is required to return that rent or that consideration;
(2)the owner and the person in possession are exempt, from the day of withdrawal onwards, from their mutual obligations imposed upon them by contract in respect of the place; however, nothing in the foregoing derogates from any cause of action that arose before the day of withdrawal.
Participation in Expenses§
18.
(a)Expenses incurred by a house owner in installing a shelter or in carrying out repairs and alterations therein, pursuant to the provisions of this Law, may be collected by the house owner from the residents of the house at that time, as detailed below:
(1)in a house whose construction was completed before the 20th of Tammuz 5705 (1 July 1945) (hereinafter – the determining date) – fifty percent of the expenses;
(2)in a house whose construction was completed on or after the determining date, whether before or after the commencement of this Law – twenty-five percent of the expenses;
(3)in a house whose construction was completed before the determining date and to which a storey or another part was added on or after the determining date, as referred to in paragraph (2) – the expenses are apportioned between the residents of the original part and the residents of the added part proportionally to the number of rooms in each, and the residents of the original part participate in fifty percent, and the residents of the added part in twenty-five percent.
(b)Where there are disputes between a house owner and the residents concerning the amount of expenses incurred by the house owner in installing or maintaining a shelter, the amount approved by the local authority shall be deemed to be the amount of expenses actually incurred.
Participation Fees – Miscellaneous Provisions§
19.
(a)The amount that each resident is required to pay the house owner under section 16(e) and section 18 (hereinafter – participation fees) shall bear the same proportion to the total amount of the participation fees as the number of rooms in the possession of the resident bears to the number of rooms in the house.
(b)The time of payment of the participation fees shall be as follows:
(1)participation fees under section 16(e) – together with the rent for the apartment and in the same payment instalments;
(2)participation fees under section 18, where there are no disputes regarding the amount of the expenses – within thirty days from the date of receipt of notice by registered letter from the house owner stating that the installation, repair or alteration of the shelter has been completed and specifying the total amount of the expenses and the resident's share of the participation fees;
(3)participation fees under section 18 in a case of disputes as referred to in subsection (b) thereof – within thirty days from the date of receipt of written notice from the local authority determining the amount of the expenses.
(c)Failure to pay participation fees within the time prescribed in subsection (b) shall be treated as failure to pay rent; however, if the resident paid the participation fees after being sued but before the commencement of the hearing of the eviction claim, that shall not constitute a ground for eviction.
(d)A house owner who personally resides in the house or is in actual possession of a part thereof shall have the same status as a resident for the purpose of calculating the participation fees of the residents.
(e)A resident who vacates the apartment may collect from the person who is the house owner at that time the amount paid as participation fees under section 18 in respect of that apartment, and the house owner may, notwithstanding anything in any other law, in turn collect that same amount from the new tenant of the apartment. The status of that amount in relation to the new tenant shall be the same as the status of participation fees in expenses for the installation of a shelter for a house that were incurred during the period of that person's tenancy in the same house.
(f)Where a house or an enterprise is owned by several persons, including ownership in a condominium, the obligations imposed under this Law shall apply to all of them jointly and to each of them severally, and each of them shall be entitled to be compensated by the others for any amount expended in fulfilling any of the said obligations in excess of that person's share by virtue of that person's part in the house or enterprise, and this applies where there is no special provision in this Chapter regarding the apportionment of expenses among them. The same applies to persons who jointly lease an apartment.
(g)The person in possession of a place of work or a place of business that is not an enterprise, whose owner is required to install a separate shelter, shall have the same status as an apartment and the person in possession thereof shall have the same status as a resident, and in respect of participation fees, that person's share shall be calculated according to the number of rooms built above the area of the place of work or business, or if there are none – according to the number of rooms below it, or if there are none either – as the local authority shall determine.
(h)Where the primary tenant is required to pay participation fees and the whole or part of the place is held by a sub-tenant, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)the sub-tenant is required to pay the primary tenant the sub-tenant's share of the participation fees;
(2)if the place is an apartment, the sub-tenant's share shall bear the same proportion to the primary tenant's participation fees as the number of rooms held by the sub-tenant bears to the total number of rooms in the apartment;
(3)if the place is not an apartment, the sub-tenant's share shall be in accordance with paragraph (2), except that instead of the room calculation, the calculation prescribed in subsection (g) shall apply;
(4)the provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (e) shall apply to the sub-tenant's share as if the primary tenant were the house owner and the sub-tenant were the primary tenant.
(i)The local authority shall determine the share of a house owner to whom section 14(h) applies in the expenses of installing and maintaining the shared shelter, as well as the amount payable by that house owner in respect of each place vacated in one of the houses pursuant to section 16; and each such house owner may collect participation fees from the residents of the house as if the amount of expenses that fell to that owner's share were an amount determined pursuant to section 18(b), and the amount paid for the vacation of a place were the rental rate of the vacated place in that owner's house pursuant to section 16.
Equipment in a Public Refuge and in a Shelter§
19a.
(a)The Minister of Defence may, by Regulations with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset, direct –
(1)that public refuges and shelters be equipped with equipment to be specified in the Regulations;
(2)that appropriate signage directing persons to the entrance of a public refuge or a shelter be installed, in the form and at the location to be specified in the Regulations;
such Regulations shall be referred to in this section and in sections 19b to 19h as "equipment regulations".
(b)The person required to comply with the equipment regulations shall maintain the equipment in a condition fit for use and the signage in proper condition; a person in possession of a public refuge bears, in respect of the equipment and signage therein, the duty of an unpaid bailee.
The Person Responsible for Implementation in a Public Shelter and in a Public Refuge§
19b.
The local authority is required to implement the equipment regulations in a public shelter and in a public refuge, and the person in possession of a public refuge is entitled to implement them.
The Person Responsible for Implementation in an Enterprise§
19c.
In a shelter within an enterprise, the owner of the enterprise is required to implement the equipment regulations, and in a shelter shared by several enterprises, the owners of the enterprises are required to implement them.
Person Responsible for Implementation in a Building that is Not a Condominium§
19d.
In a shelter in a building that is not a condominium, the following persons are liable for the implementation of the equipment regulations –
(1)in a building held entirely by its owner and in a building to which the Tenant Protection Law does not apply notwithstanding any of the leases therein – the owner of the building;
(2)in a building leased entirely under a lease to which the Tenant Protection Law applies – the tenant or tenants, as the case may be;
(3)in a building partially leased under a lease to which the Tenant Protection Law applies – the tenant or tenants in respect of the parts leased in such manner, and the owner of the building in respect of the parts not leased in such manner.
Person Responsible for Implementation in a Condominium§
19e.
In a shelter in a condominium, the following persons are liable for the implementation of the equipment regulations –
(1)in a building held entirely by the apartment owners or in a building to which the Tenant Protection Law does not apply notwithstanding any of the leases therein – the apartment owners;
(2)in a building whose apartments are all leased under leases to which the Tenant Protection Law applies – the tenants;
(3)in a building in which some of the apartments are leased under a lease to which the Tenant Protection Law applies – the tenant or tenants in respect of the apartments leased in such manner, and the apartment owners in respect of the remaining apartments.
Implementation Expenses§
19f.
A person liable for the implementation of the equipment regulations shall bear the implementation expenses, all subject to the following provisions:
(1)where the holder of a public shelter has implemented the equipment regulations, in whole or in part, that person may collect the implementation expenses from the local authority and may also set them off against any debt owed by that person to the local authority;
(2)where the shelter is shared by a number of enterprises, the expenses shall be apportioned, in the absence of an agreement among the enterprise owners, according to the number of workers employed in the enterprises at the time of implementation; however, if the enterprises are in a single condominium, the expenses shall be apportioned, in the absence of such agreement, in the manner in which the expenses to which section 58 of the Land Law, 5729-1969, applies are apportioned;
(3)in a shelter in a building that is not a condominium and also in a shelter serving a number of buildings, the expenses shall be apportioned, in the absence of an agreement among the persons liable, according to the number of rooms in each apartment, and in workplaces or business premises that are not an enterprise, section 19(g) shall apply with the necessary modifications;
(4)in a shelter in a condominium, the expenses shall be apportioned, in the absence of an agreement among the persons liable, in the manner in which the expenses to which section 58 of the Land Law, 5729-1969, applies are apportioned among the apartment owners in that condominium;
(5)where the owner of the building, including an apartment owner in a condominium, bears expenses in respect of premises leased under a lease to which the Tenant Protection Law does not apply, the owner of the building may collect from the lessee one half of the expenses applicable to the leased premises under paragraphs (3) or (4), as the case may be; where there is a dispute between the owner of the building or the apartment owner and the lessee regarding the amount of the said expenses, the amount approved by the local authority shall be regarded as the amount of the expenses actually incurred.
Maintenance Expenses§
19g.
A person liable for maintaining equipment in a state fit for use and for maintaining the signage in proper condition as referred to in section 19a shall also bear the maintenance expenses, and section 19f shall apply to such expenses with the necessary modifications.
Enforcement of Implementation§
19h.
Sections 20 to 20e shall apply to the implementation of the equipment regulations, including the maintenance obligation, as if the implementation were required work within the meaning of section 20, and this applies where there is no other express provision in sections 19c to 19g.
Non-Application§
19i.
Sections 19c to 19f shall not apply to a public shelter.
Owner of Building who has not Carried out Required Work§
20.
Where an owner of a building or an enterprise owner upon whom an obligation has been imposed under this Law to install, repair or alter a shelter (hereinafter – required work) has not carried out the required work, the competent authority or the local authority may do one of the following:
(1)carry out the required work and collect the implementation expenses from the owner of the building or the enterprise owner in the manner in which it collects its rates, and if the competent authority is the collecting body, the Tax Collection Ordinance shall apply to the collection of the implementation expenses, except for section 12 thereof, as if they were a tax within the meaning of that Ordinance; the provisions of sections 18 and 19 shall apply to the said expenses as if they had been incurred by the owner;
(2)impose on the tenants in the building an obligation to carry out the required work in full within a period to be determined.
Carrying out Required Work by Tenants§
20a.
(a)Where tenants have carried out required work pursuant to section 20, the implementation expenses shall be apportioned between the owner of the building and the tenants, among the tenants themselves, and between the tenants and sub-lessees, in accordance with the provisions of sections 18 and 19 as if the expenses had been incurred by the owner, and each tenant may deduct from the rent due from that tenant to the owner of the building, or from the value of the bills of exchange given to secure or discharge the rent, the portion that the owner of the building is liable to bear.
(b)Where there is a dispute among the participants in the implementation expenses regarding the amounts of their respective shares, the amount approved by the local authority as each participant's share, upon the application of a tenant, sub-lessee or owner of a building, shall be regarded as the amount that participant is liable to pay under this section; however, no approval shall be given in respect of the amount of the expenses until the required work has been carried out in full and the parties concerned have been given an opportunity to state their arguments, both with regard to the total expenses and with regard to their apportionment. A tenant who has paid, on account of the expenses, an amount in excess of that tenant's share may recover the excess from any person who has paid less than that person's share, up to the amount needed to complete that person's share of the expenses; and this applies where there is no agreement on another arrangement in this matter.
Carrying out Required Work by an Appointee§
20b.
(a)Where tenants have not carried out required work pursuant to section 20 within the period determined for that purpose, the authority that imposed the obligation may appoint, with that person's consent, a person to carry out that work (hereinafter – the appointee), and may determine remuneration for that purpose, to be paid by the tenants and the owner of the building.
(b)The authority shall not exercise its power as aforesaid unless it was of the opinion that the required work would not be carried out within the period determined for that purpose without reasonable cause and after giving the tenants appropriate written warning. The warning shall specify the content of subsection (a).
Apportionment and Collection of Implementation Expenses by the Authorities§
20c.
(a)The implementation expenses incurred by the appointee, including the appointee's remuneration, shall be apportioned between the owner of the building and the tenants, among the tenants themselves, and between the tenants and sub-lessees, in accordance with the provisions of sections 18 and 19 as if the required work had been carried out by the owner of the building, and the appointee may collect the shares of the tenants and the owner of the building in order to cover the appointee's expenses and remuneration.
(b)The local authority shall determine, upon the application of the appointee, the estimated expenses of the required work, and the appointee may, even before carrying out the required work, collect from the tenants and from the owner of the building, according to their respective shares in the said expenses, an advance not exceeding two thirds of those estimated expenses.
(c)Where there is a dispute among the participants in the implementation expenses, or in the advance, among themselves, or between a participant and the appointee, regarding the amounts of their respective shares, the amount approved by the local authority as each participant's share, upon the application of a participant or the appointee, shall be regarded as the amount that participant is liable to pay under this section. No approval shall be given in respect of the implementation expenses under subsection (a) until the required work has been carried out in full and the parties concerned have been given an opportunity to state their arguments, both with regard to the expenses and with regard to their apportionment.
(d)An approval as referred to in subsection (c) may be enforced as a judgment of a competent court against which no further appeal lies.
Right to Apply to Court Regarding Expenses§
20d.
The provisions of section 20c do not derogate from a person's right to seek determination of that person's own share or another person's share in the expenses of required work, or in the remuneration of the appointee, by way of a claim before a competent court, whether that person has already paid that share, in whole or in part, pursuant to an approval by a local authority, or has not yet paid it, provided that the claim is brought not later than two years from the date of payment of that person's own share; however, a court before which the claim is pending shall not stay the enforcement of the approval nor prevent the appointee from enforcing it, notwithstanding anything in any law.
Preservation of Liability to Fulfil Obligations§
20e.
The taking of measures under section 20(1) or under section 20b does not derogate from the obligations of the owner of the building and the tenants under this Chapter, or from their criminal liability for non-fulfilment of an obligation thereunder.
Powers of the Head of a Local Authority§
20f.
(a)Every power vested in sections 13, 14, 16, 20, 20b and 20c in a local authority shall also be vested in the head of the local authority, or in a person authorised by the head of the local authority with the approval of the council of the local authority, whether generally or in respect of a particular matter or category of matters; and the local authority may delegate to the head of the local authority the remainder of its powers under this Chapter, in whole or in part.
(b)The head of the local authority, or a person authorised in writing by the head of the local authority to do so, may take any action necessary for the performance of the head of the local authority's functions, or for the implementation of directions given pursuant to the powers of the head of the local authority or the powers of the local authority under this Law, and for that purpose may enter any place at any reasonable time after giving prior notice thereof.
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