Israeli Legislation.com
LawReal Estate & LandCivil Law

Land Law, 5729-1969

חוק המקרקעין, תשכ"ט-1969

Published: 1969-07-27Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2024-07-08 · Last amended 2024-07-04✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
Premium
Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Section E: Fees

Authority of the Minister of Justice§
149.
(a)The Minister of Justice may prescribe by Regulations fees for the purposes of this Law and may also prescribe who shall be liable to pay the fee.
(b)The Minister of Justice may, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset, prescribe by Regulations conditions under which categories of persons or categories of transactions shall be exempt from, or shall benefit from reductions in, the payment of a fee, or under which the payment of a fee shall be deferred.
(c)The rate of the reduction or the duration of the deferral within the areas prescribed by Regulations shall be determined by the Minister of Justice or by a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose.
(d)A fee the payment of which has been deferred shall constitute a charge (security interest) on the real property concerned, and the Registrar shall register the charge (security interest).
Fee Rates Based on Value§
150.
(a)The Minister of Justice may prescribe a fee as a fixed sum or fee rates based on the value of the real property or the transaction.
(b)Where a fee has been prescribed based on the value of the real property or the transaction, the Minister of Justice shall prescribe by Regulations who shall carry out the valuation, and the provisions of sections 121 and 122 shall apply to the valuation decision, with the necessary modifications.
Payment of Fee as a Condition for Registration§
151.

Notwithstanding anything provided in this Law, no registration act shall be performed unless the fee prescribed for that act has first been paid, unless the person liable for the fee is exempt from it or has received a reduction therein, or unless the payment of the fee has been deferred in accordance with the Regulations.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Chapter X: Miscellaneous

Section A: Abolition of Categories of Real Property

Abolition of Classification§
152.

The classification of real property into various categories that existed on the eve of the commencement of this Law by virtue of Ottoman legislation is abolished.

Real Property of the "Miri" Category§
153.

Real property that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, belonged to the "Miri" category shall be held in full ownership in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Real Property of the "Matruka" Category§
154.
(a)Real property that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, belonged to the "Matruka" category shall be registered in the name of the State; however, where the real property was situated within the area of a local authority and, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, constituted roads or open spaces, excluding sea shores, that served primarily the residents of that local authority, it shall be registered in the name of the local authority.
(b)Real property that has been registered in the name of a local authority in accordance with subsection (a) and whose use is subsequently changed to a use that would not have justified its registration in the name of the local authority shall pass to the ownership of the State.
Real Property of the "Mawat" Category§
155.

Real property that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, belonged to the "Mawat" category shall be registered in the name of the State; however, where a person received a title deed in respect of such real property pursuant to section 103 of the Ottoman Land Code of the year 1274 of the Hijra or pursuant to the Land Transfer Ordinance, that person or that person's successor is entitled to have the real property registered in their name.

Preservation of Rights§
156.

Nothing in the provisions of sections 153, 154 or 155 shall derogate from rights that existed on the eve of the commencement of this Law in the real property referred to therein.

Fixtures Registered Separately from the Land§
157.
(a)Buildings or plantings (hereinafter – fixtures) that, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, were registered separately from the land in the name of one person shall be registered in that person's name as a single unit, and the separate registration shall be cancelled.
(b)(Repealed)

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Section A-1: Deletion of Attachments from the Registry

Limitation of the Duration of an Attachment and its Deletion§
157a.
(a)Where ten years have elapsed from the day on which an attachment was registered, the Registrar may delete it unless an Order extending its validity has been submitted for registration.
(b)Where the Registrar has decided to delete an attachment upon the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (a), the Registrar shall send notice, at least forty-five days before the deletion, to the person in whose favour the attachment was registered, insofar as that person's address is known, or shall publish a notice to that effect in two daily newspapers.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Section B: Repeal of Laws and Transitional Provisions

Repeals§
158.

The following are repealed –

(1)the Ottoman Land Code of the year 1274 of the Hijra and all other Ottoman legislation concerning real property;
(2)sections 882–886, 905–909, 950–956, 1008–1044, 1051–1052, 1192–1233, 1241–1246, 1270–1291, 1328, 1644–1646, 1673 and 1675 of the Mejelle;
(3)sections 24–33 of the Ottoman Provisional Magistrates Law of the year 1331 of the Hijra;
(4)the Land Transfer Ordinance;
(5)the Mortgages (Amendment) Ordinance;
(6)the Mawkuf Lands Ordinance, 1920;
(7)the Land (Mawat) Ordinance;
(8)the Land Courts Ordinance;
(9)the Land Books (Amendment) Ordinance, 1926;
(10)sections 44 and 45 of the Land (Settlement of Title) Ordinance;
(11)the Land Law (Amendment) Ordinance;
(12)the Land Registers Ordinance, 1944;
(13)the Law for the Amendment of Land Laws (Conversion of "Matruka"), 5720-1960;
(14)the Common Houses Law, 5721-1961 [Consolidated Version].
Non-Application of Certain Provisions§
159.
(a)Book 10 of the Mejelle shall not apply to real property.
(b)The Limitation Law, 5718-1958, shall not apply to claims for the enforcement of a right in settled real property; however, nothing therein shall prevent a plea of limitation that a person was entitled to raise before the commencement of this Law.
Independence of the Law§
160.

In matters of real property, section 46 of the Palestine Order in Council, 1922–1947, shall not apply.

Negation of Equitable Rights§
161.

From the commencement of this Law, no right in real property shall exist except pursuant to law.

Savings provisions§
162.

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 152 and 158 to 161, nothing in the provisions of this Law shall repeal or bring about any change –

(1)in the special law that existed on the eve of its commencement with respect to real property of the mawkuf type and to endowments;
(2)in the law that existed on the eve of its commencement with respect to prescription in unregistered real property.
Application§
163.

The provisions of this Law shall apply where no other law contains special provisions for the matter in question.

Amendment of the Interpretation Ordinance§
164.

In the Interpretation Ordinance [New Version], in section 1, in place of the definition of "real property" the following shall come:

"real property" – land, all that is built and planted thereon and any other thing permanently affixed thereto, except for fixtures that are detachable; however, where the word "real property" appears in a legislative provision enacted before the commencement of the Land Law, 5729-1969, its meaning shall be the meaning that would have been attributed to it but for that Law;".

Amendment of the Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version]§
165.

In the Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version], after section 48 the following shall come:

"Withdrawal of support

48a. Where real property affords support to neighbouring real property, the doing of any act that prevents or withdraws that support shall be a tort.

Use required for the public benefit

48b. Use of real property that is required for the public benefit shall not constitute a nuisance for the purposes of this Section, even if it causes harm to neighbouring real property or prevents its owners from deriving full enjoyment from their real property, provided that the harm caused does not exceed the bounds of what is tolerable and the user has taken reasonable measures to minimise the harm as far as possible; however, the court may award compensation – whether by way of a single payment or by way of recurring payments – if pecuniary harm has been caused to the owner of the real property."

Transitional provisions§
166.
(a)A transaction in real property, and an undertaking to effect such a transaction, made before the commencement of this Law, as well as a right in real property that was vested on the eve of its commencement and that this Law does not recognise, shall continue to be governed by the previous law.
(b)A right in real property dealt with by this Law shall be governed by this Law even if it was created before its commencement.
Continuity of appointments, registrations, etc.§
167.
(a)A person who served on the eve of the commencement of this Law in the office of Superintendent of the Registry, Inspector or Registrar shall be deemed to have been appointed under this Law.
(b)Land Registry Offices that were established, their areas of operation that were determined, and registers that were maintained in them lawfully before the commencement of this Law shall be deemed to have been established, determined and maintained under this Law.
(c)Registrations made lawfully in the registers before the commencement of this Law shall be deemed to have been made under this Law.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Section C: Implementation of the Law

Implementation and regulations§
168.

The Minister of Justice is responsible for the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations in all matters relating to its implementation, including –

(1)the registers to be maintained, the procedures for their maintenance and the procedures for and particulars of registrations;
(2)the procedures for inspecting the registers and obtaining copies therefrom;
(3)the rules of procedure for proceedings and appeals under this Law;
(4)the procedures relating to the registration of apartment buildings, the amendment of registration and the cancellation of registration;
(5)the procedures relating to first registration and renewal of registration;
(5a)the procedures relating to the amendment of registration of the area or boundaries of unregistered real property;
(6)the procedures relating to the registration of consolidation and subdivision of parcels, including the re-registration of rights in parcels that were registered on the eve of the consolidation or subdivision;
(7)the powers of Registrars, Inspectors and the Superintendent of the Registry.
Commencement§
169.

This Law shall come into force on the 23rd of Tevet 5730 (1 January 1970).

Application of Chapter VI-A§
170.

The Minister of Justice shall apply, gradually, by Orders, the provisions of Chapter VI-A to the regions of the State.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Schedule (Section 64)

Definitions§

1.

In this by-law –

"apartment owner" – in relation to an apartment that has been let on a long-term lease for a period exceeding twenty-five years – the lessee or the sub-lessee, as the case may be, unless it is stipulated in the lease contract that for the purposes of the by-law they shall not be regarded as apartment owners;

"common property" – all parts of the apartment building other than the parts registered as apartments, and including the land, the roofs, the external walls, the foundation, stairwells, lifts, shelters, and also heating or water installations and the like intended to serve all or most of the apartment owners even if they are within the bounds of a particular apartment.

Alterations and repairs to an apartment§

2.
(a)An apartment owner is not entitled to make in his apartment alterations or repairs that harm the common property or endanger or are likely to endanger its existence or alter or are likely to alter its value, unless he has first obtained the consent of the general meeting of apartment owners; for this purpose, "harm to the common property" includes harm to its proper and uniform external appearance as it was at the time of completion of construction.
(b)An apartment owner is not entitled to make in his apartment alterations or repairs that harm another apartment or endanger or are likely to endanger its existence, or alter or are likely to alter its value, unless he has first obtained the consent of the owner of the other apartment.
(c)Any other alteration or repair an apartment owner may make in his apartment on his own initiative.

Right to demand repairs§

3.
(a)An apartment owner is entitled to demand that the representative committee carry out any repair in the building or in the common property, the non-performance of which is likely to harm his apartment or its value.
(b)An apartment owner is entitled to demand that the owner of another apartment carry out a repair in that other apartment, the non-performance of which is likely to harm the apartment of the person demanding the repair.

Maintenance works on the property§

4.
(a)An apartment owner is obliged to permit the carrying out in his apartment of works necessary for the proper maintenance of the common property, and for that purpose members of the representative committee and persons acting on its behalf are entitled to enter his apartment and carry out such works therein.
(b)If the said works caused damage to the apartment, all apartment owners are liable to share in the expenses of restoring the position to its former state in the proportion in which they share in the expenses of maintaining the common property.

Ordinary general meeting§

5.
(a)The apartment owners shall hold, once a year, a general meeting for the purpose of determining the methods of management of the common property and its use, determining the expenses connected therewith, appointing a representative committee, approving the accounts and settling other matters arising from the co-habitation in the apartment building.
(b)The representative committee shall fix the date of the general meeting and convene it; the first meeting shall be held within three months of the day of registration of the building in the register of apartment buildings; thereafter the meeting shall be held no later than fifteen months from the day of the previous meeting.

Extraordinary general meeting§

6.
(a)In addition to the general meetings under section 5, the representative committee may convene a general meeting whenever it sees fit, and it is obliged to convene one if the owners of at least one-third of the apartments have so demanded.
(b)If the representative committee did not convene a meeting within fourteen days from the day on which a demand as referred to in subsection (a) was submitted to it, the apartment owners who demanded it may convene the meeting.

Convening of a meeting§

7.
(a)Notice of the date and place of a general meeting shall be given to all apartment owners at least four days before the date.
(b)A notice that was posted in a prominent place on or inside the apartment building shall be deemed to have been given to every apartment owner one day after it was posted.

Quorum at a meeting§

8.
(a)A general meeting shall be deemed lawful if notice of its convening was given as referred to in section 7 and the owners of at least half of the apartments participated therein, in person or by representatives.
(b)The notice of the convening of the general meeting may provide that if a lawful quorum is not present at the time fixed for the opening of the meeting, the meeting shall be held at a different time on the same day, and where so provided, the meeting that convened at the later time shall be lawful with any number of participants.

Agenda of a meeting§

9.
(a)The notice of the date of a general meeting shall set out its agenda.
(b)An apartment owner may add a matter to the agenda of the meeting, provided that notice thereof is given to all other apartment owners at least two days before the date of the meeting in the manner in which notice of the date of a general meeting is given.
(c)A general meeting shall not deliberate on a matter not included in its agenda, unless all apartment owners have agreed that the matter shall be placed before it for deliberation.

Chairperson and secretary of the meeting§

10.

A general meeting shall elect a chairperson and a secretary of the meeting.

Adjournment of the meeting§

11.

The chairperson of the general meeting may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn its continuation to a date that seems fit to him, and he is obliged to adjourn it if a majority of those present at the meeting so demand.

Decisions§

12.
(a)Decisions of the general meeting shall be adopted by a majority of votes.
(b)A decision imposing on an apartment owner obligations or payments of a type or rate not specified in Chapter VI of the Land Law, 5729-1969, or in these articles, or altering that owner's rights, shall not be binding on that apartment owner unless that owner has consented thereto.

Voting§

13.
(a)Voting at the general meeting shall be by show of hands, but upon the demand of at least one quarter of the apartment owners present, a ballot vote shall be held.
(b)In a vote, the owner of each apartment is entitled to one vote.
(c)Where votes are equal, the chairperson of the meeting shall have the casting vote.

Proxies§

14.
(a)Every apartment owner may participate in a general meeting and vote thereat in person or by proxy.
(b)A proxy appointed to represent an apartment owner at a general meeting shall present to the house committee, close to the opening of the meeting, a letter of appointment signed by the apartment owner who appointed that proxy.
(c)An apartment owner that is a corporation shall participate in the meeting and in voting by a proxy appointed in accordance with its articles; a certificate signed by the manager or secretary of the corporation confirming that its proxy was appointed in accordance with its articles shall serve as conclusive evidence thereof.
(d)Where an apartment has more than one owner, the owners shall appoint one of them, or another person, as their proxy at the general meeting; a proxy appointed as aforesaid shall present to the house committee, close to the opening of the meeting, a letter of appointment signed by all the owners of the apartment.

House Committee§

15.
(a)The ordinary general meeting shall elect a house committee comprising one or more members, but not more than five members; where the house committee has more than one member, one of its members shall be elected as treasurer.
(b)An extraordinary general meeting may replace the house committee, alter its composition, or complete it if the number of its members has fallen for any reason; if the number of members of the house committee has been fixed and the number of its members has fallen for any reason to below that number, the remaining members of the house committee shall, within ten days, convene an extraordinary general meeting for the purpose of completing the composition of the house committee.
(c)The term of office of the house committee, including members elected pursuant to subsection (b), shall continue until a new house committee is elected at the next ordinary general meeting.
(d)Decisions of the house committee shall be adopted by a majority of votes; where votes are equal with respect to a particular proposal, that proposal shall be deemed rejected.

Accounts§

16.
(a)The treasurer shall obtain a receipt for every expenditure, issue a receipt for every income, and maintain an income and expenditure ledger; the treasurer shall bring the ledger before the ordinary general meeting for approval and shall also bring therewith the receipts obtained, copies of the receipts issued and the documents relating thereto.
(b)The treasurer shall prepare a financial report once every six months; the report shall also include a breakdown of the investments of accumulated income.
(c)An apartment owner may at any reasonable time inspect the income and expenditure ledger, the receipts, the documents relating thereto and the financial report.
(d)The treasurer shall deposit the income in a bank account in the name of the house in common.
(e)The financial year of the house in common shall commence on 1 January and end on 31 December of the same year; the first financial year shall commence on the day of registration of the house in the register of houses in common and shall end on the first 31 December following the day of registration.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →
← 1234567 →

Page 6 of 7

Read the entire law on one page — continuous text, no page breaks, plus PDF downloads.