Real Property Brokerage Law, 5756-1996
חוק המתווכים במקרקעין, תשנ"ו-1996
Published: 1996-02-08Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-01-01 · Last amended 2023-11-19✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Definitions§
1.
In this Law –
"real property brokerage" – bringing together, for consideration, two or more parties for the purpose of their entering into a transaction in a right in real property;
"real property" – as defined in the Land Law, 5729-1969;
"right in real property" – as its meaning in the Land Law, 5729-1969, whether or not it is registered, whether by virtue of a contract or by virtue of the Tenant Protection Law [Consolidated Version], 5732-1972, and also a right in a real property association, as defined in the Real Property Appreciation Tax Law, 5723-1963;
"client" – a party to an agreement with a real property broker for the receipt of his services, whether or not he pays brokerage fees;
"the Minister" – the Minister of Justice;
"the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee" – the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee of the Knesset;
"the Registrar" – a person appointed as stated in section 3.
Prohibition of Practice without a Licence§
2.
(a)A person shall not engage in real property brokerage unless he holds a valid licence and acts in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
(b)A person shall not publish to the public a notice that he is a real property broker, shall not present himself as a real property broker, and shall not use any title or designation likely to create the impression that he is a real property broker in Israel, unless he holds a valid licence under this Law.
(c)The provisions of this Law shall not apply to a person who publishes on television, on radio, in a newspaper or in any other manner information and particulars concerning persons interested in carrying out transactions in rights in real property, provided that he does not present himself as a real property broker.
Registrar§
3.
(a)The Minister shall appoint a Registrar whose functions shall be:
(1)to grant licences for real property brokerage to a person who meets the conditions for the receipt of a licence under this Law;
(2)to maintain a register of holders of licences for real property brokerage.
(b)Notice of the appointment of the Registrar shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
Advisory Committee§
4.
(a)The Minister shall appoint an advisory committee whose function shall be to advise the Registrar on all matters relating to the content of the examination for the receipt of a real property brokerage licence as stated in section 5, and on any other matter that the Registrar sees fit to consult with it.
(b)The committee shall have at least three members, including a real property broker, a consumer representative, and a lawyer representing the Israel Bar Association.
(c)A person who has been convicted of a criminal offence or a disciplinary offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him unfit to be a member of a committee, or in respect of whom a court has determined that he committed such an offence, shall not be appointed as a member of the advisory committee.
(d)The Minister shall appoint the chairperson of the advisory committee from among the members of the committee.
(e)The term of office of a member of the advisory committee shall be three years from the date of his appointment, and the Minister may reappoint him for one additional term of office, and may further reappoint him after a break of at least three consecutive years.
(f)A member of the advisory committee shall cease to serve before the end of his term of office in any of the following circumstances:
(1)he resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the Minister;
(2)he was convicted of a criminal offence or a disciplinary offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him unfit to be a member of a committee, or a court determined in respect of him that he committed such an offence.
(g)The Minister may, by written notice, remove a member of the advisory committee from office in any of the following circumstances:
(1)he is permanently unable to fulfil his functions;
(2)he was absent, without reasonable cause, from three consecutive meetings of the committee or from more than one-third of the meetings held by the committee in one year and not fewer than three meetings;
(3)circumstances exist that disqualify a person, under law, from serving as a member of the committee.
(h)If a member of the advisory committee has resigned from his position or has for any other reason ceased to be a member of the committee before the end of his term of office, the Minister shall appoint another member in his place in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Conflict of Interests of a Member of the Advisory Committee§
4a.
(a)A person who is likely to find himself, directly or indirectly, on a frequent basis, in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the committee and a personal interest or other function of his, shall not be appointed as a member of the advisory committee.
(b)If a member of the advisory committee becomes aware that a matter being discussed at a meeting of the committee or with which he is required to deal in the framework of his function as a member of the committee is likely to cause him to find himself, directly or indirectly, in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the advisory committee and a personal interest or other function of his, he shall notify the chairperson of the committee thereof in writing; if the member of the advisory committee was unable to give such notice, he shall notify the chairperson of the committee orally, provided that he sends him a written notice as aforesaid immediately after it becomes possible to do so.
(c)A member of the advisory committee shall refrain from participating in a discussion held by the committee and from voting on a matter as stated in subsection (b), and shall not deal with such a matter in the framework of the discharge of his function on the committee.
(d)In this section –
"personal interest" – including a personal interest of his relative or of a body in which he or a relative of his is a controlling shareholder;
"relative" – a spouse, parent, grandparent, brother or sister, descendant, descendant of a spouse and their respective spouses, or another person who is a dependant of the committee member, as well as a partner, employer or employee of such a member;
"controlling shareholder" – any of the following: a director or responsible employee in a body, and any person who holds a share exceeding 5% of the capital or the right to receive profits of that body.
Conditions for Receipt of a Licence§
5.
(a)A person in whom the following conditions are fulfilled is entitled to receive a licence as a real property broker:
(1)he is a citizen or resident of the State of Israel, or he is a foreign resident who has been lawfully permitted to work in Israel;
(2)he has attained the age of 18;
(3)he is not bankrupt;
(4)he has not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity and circumstances, renders him unfit to serve as a real property broker;
(5)if he has been sentenced to a term of actual imprisonment, he has completed serving his sentence at least six months before the submission of the application for a licence;
(6)he has successfully passed the examination for the receipt of a real property brokerage licence (hereinafter – the examination).
(b)Where a person who has received a licence under this Law no longer fulfils, in respect of him, the conditions prescribed in paragraphs (1) or (3) of subsection (a), the Registrar may, after the person has been given an opportunity to present his arguments before him, and after consulting the advisory committee, revoke his licence to engage in real property brokerage.
(b1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Registrar may, after consulting the advisory committee and after giving the licence applicant an opportunity to present his arguments before him, decline to grant a licence to an applicant if he finds, on the basis of other facts that have come to his knowledge, that the applicant is unfit to serve as a real property broker.
(c)If the Registrar refuses to grant a licence to an applicant or revokes his licence, he shall notify him of his reasons in writing, and if he refused to grant a licence by reason of a condition as stated in subsection (a)(4), he shall give that person an opportunity to present his arguments before him.
(d)The Minister, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, shall prescribe provisions regarding the publication of revocations of licences under subsection (b); if the Minister has prescribed such provisions regarding the online publication of particulars of real property brokers whose licence has been revoked, he shall prescribe therein the period of publication and the means to prevent, as far as possible, access to such particulars upon the expiry of the period of publication.
The Examination§
6.
(a)The Minister shall prescribe, after consulting the Registrar and the advisory committee, the subjects of the examination and its arrangements; the examination shall include, inter alia, the following fields: contract law, real property law, planning and construction law, real property taxation law, and Sections Vav and Zayin of Chapter XI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977; the examination shall be held at least twice a year.
(b)A candidate who has failed the examination may sit the examination again.
7.§
(Repealed — תשס״ה)
Duty of Good Faith and Care§
8.
(a)A real property broker shall act with trust, good faith and in an accepted manner, and shall disclose to his client all information in his possession on any material matter relating to the property that is the subject of the brokerage transaction.
(b)In the discharge of his function, a real property broker shall act with skill and reasonableness and shall take measures appropriate to the circumstances of the matter to obtain material information relating to the property that is the subject of the brokerage transaction.
Requirement for a Written Order§
9.
(a)A real property broker shall not be entitled to brokerage fees unless the client has signed a written order for the performance of a real property brokerage act, which includes all the particulars prescribed by the Minister with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee.
(b)A real property broker may agree with a client on the exclusive handling of a particular transaction (hereinafter – exclusivity), provided that the grant of exclusivity and its period –
(1)are confirmed by the client's signature on a separate document;
(2)that during the period of exclusivity the broker performs acts whose purpose is real property brokerage (in this Law – marketing acts).
(b1)Where exclusivity has been granted to a real property broker in respect of real property offered for sale by a seller not in the course of his business, the following provisions shall apply in addition to the provisions of subsection (b):
(1)the period of exclusivity, except in respect of an apartment, shall not exceed one year from the day on which the client signed the order (in this section – the order date); if the parties have not set out in the document referred to in subsection (b)(1) the duration of the period of exclusivity, the exclusivity shall end upon the expiry of nine months from the order date;
(2)the period of exclusivity in respect of an apartment shall not exceed six months from the order date.
(b2)The period of exclusivity shall end upon the expiry of one-third of the period of exclusivity as stated in subsection (b1), as applicable, if the real property broker has not performed, by that date, the marketing acts prescribed pursuant to subsection (d).
(c)Where exclusivity as stated in subsection (b) has been granted to a real property broker in respect of an apartment and no period of exclusivity has been prescribed therein, the period of exclusivity for that broker shall end upon the expiry of 30 days from the day on which the client signed the order. In this section, "apartment" – a room, building or suite of rooms intended for residential use or actually used for residential purposes, including a room, building or suite of rooms as aforesaid that will be erected or built in the future.
(d)The Minister, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, may prescribe marketing acts as stated in subsection (b) that a real property broker shall be obliged to perform, in whole or in part, during the period of exclusivity.
Disclosure of Personal Interest§
10.
A real property broker shall not broker a real property transaction if he has a personal interest in the real property or in the transaction, unless he has disclosed to his client his personal interest as aforesaid and has obtained the client's written consent thereto; in this section, "personal interest" – including a personal interest of a relative of the real property broker or of a body in which the broker or his relative is a controlling shareholder; for this purpose, "controlling shareholder" and "relative" – as defined in section 4a(d), with the necessary modifications.
Prohibition of Disclosure of Information§
11.
Without derogating from the provisions of sections 8 and 10, a real property broker or a person employed by him shall not disclose to any person, without the client's consent, any information that was brought to his knowledge by the client or on the client's behalf, unless he is required to disclose it under any law.
Prohibition of Legal Acts§
12.
A real property broker shall not draw up and shall not assist in drawing up documents of a legal character relating to a real property transaction, and shall not represent a client in legal negotiations in preparation for the drawing up of such a document; a broker who contravenes this section shall not be entitled to brokerage fees. This provision shall not derogate from the Bar Association Law, 5721-1961.
Prohibition of Employment§
13.
A person shall not employ another person in real property brokerage unless the employed person holds a valid licence under this Law; this section shall not apply to the employment of a person in an administrative capacity.
Brokerage Fees§
14.
(a)A real property broker shall be entitled to brokerage fees from a client if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(1)he held a valid licence under this Law at the time he was engaged in brokerage, or a temporary exemption applied to him at that time in accordance with the provisions of section 20;
(2)he complied with the provisions of section 9;
(3)he was the effective cause that brought about the parties' entry into a binding agreement.
(b)A real property broker who performed, during the period of exclusivity, the marketing acts prescribed pursuant to section 9(d), shall be presumed to have been the effective cause as stated in subsection (a)(3) in respect of a transaction concluded during the period of exclusivity.
Disciplinary Offences§
14a.
A real property broker who has done any of the following has committed a disciplinary offence:
(1)conducted himself in a manner that is unbecoming of his occupation;
(2)contravened a provision of sections 8 and 10 to 12;
(3)contravened a rule prescribed by the Minister under section 14ac or a provision of any other law imposing a duty or prohibition on a real property broker;
(4)obtained his licence by misrepresentation;
(5)was convicted by a final judgment, whether in Israel or outside Israel, of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him unfit to engage in real property brokerage;
(6)displayed irresponsibility or gross negligence in the course of his engagement in real property brokerage.
Disciplinary Committee§
14b.
(a)The Minister shall appoint a disciplinary committee whose function shall be to hear and decide on disciplinary offences (in this Law – the disciplinary committee).
(b)The disciplinary committee shall consist of three members as follows:
(1)a person qualified to be appointed as a judge of a Magistrate's Court, who shall be the chairperson;
(2)a real property broker with seniority of at least five years;
(3)a State employee who is a lawyer with expertise in the field of real property.
(c)The members of the disciplinary committee referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b) shall be appointed in consultation with the Registrar and the advisory committee.
(d)A member of the advisory committee shall not be appointed as a member of the disciplinary committee until one year has elapsed from the end of his service as a member of the advisory committee.
(e)The Minister shall appoint deputies for the members of the disciplinary committee in accordance with the provisions of this section.
Restrictions on Appointment of a Member of the Disciplinary Committee§
14c.
A person in whom any of the following applies shall not be appointed as a member of the disciplinary committee:
(1)he has been convicted by a final judgment of a criminal offence or a disciplinary offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders him unfit to serve as a member of the disciplinary committee, or a court has determined in respect of him that he committed such an offence;
(2)an indictment or complaint has been filed against him in respect of an offence as stated in paragraph (1), and a final judgment has not yet been given in the matter;
(3)he is likely to find himself, directly or indirectly, on a frequent basis, in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the disciplinary committee and a personal interest or other function of his; for this purpose, "personal interest" – as defined in section 4a(d).
Disqualification of a Member of the Disciplinary Committee§
14d.
(a)A prosecutor or respondent may request that a member of the disciplinary committee disqualify himself from sitting in judgment if there exist circumstances that give rise to a real apprehension of bias in the hearing of the complaint.
(b)A request as stated in subsection (a) shall not be heard unless made at the commencement of the proceedings, or immediately after the prosecutor or respondent became aware of the circumstances that give rise to a real apprehension of bias as stated in that subsection.
(c)Where a plea of disqualification is raised against a member of the disciplinary committee, the disciplinary committee shall decide thereon immediately and before issuing any other decision.
(d)A prosecutor or respondent may appeal against the decision of the disciplinary committee on the disqualification of a member of the committee before the District Court within 30 days from the date of delivery of the decision.
(e)If a member of the disciplinary committee is prevented from continuing to participate in the proceedings by reason of a decision under subsection (c), the provisions of section 14p shall apply.
Term of Office§
14e.
(a)A member of the disciplinary committee shall be appointed for a period of four years, and the Minister may reappoint him for one additional term of office, and may further, after a break of at least four consecutive years, reappoint him for no more than two additional consecutive terms of office as aforesaid.
(b)Notice of the appointment of members of the disciplinary committee shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
Termination of Office§
14f.
(a)A member of the disciplinary committee shall cease to serve before the end of his term of office if he has resigned from his membership of the disciplinary committee by delivering a letter of resignation to the Minister.
(b)The Minister may, by written notice, remove a member of the disciplinary committee from office if any of the following occurs:
(1)he is permanently unable to fulfil his functions;
(2)he has ceased to fulfil the eligibility conditions under section 14b(b) by virtue of which he was appointed as a member of the disciplinary committee;
(3)the circumstances stated in section 14c(1) or (3) apply to him;
(4)other circumstances exist by reason of which he is unfit to serve as a member of the disciplinary committee.
Power to Conclude Proceedings§
14g.
A member of the Disciplinary Committee who commenced proceedings and whose term of office as a member of the Disciplinary Committee ended pursuant to the provisions of section 14e or was discontinued pursuant to the provisions of section 14f(a) or (b)(2), shall be empowered to conclude the proceedings that he commenced within six months from the day on which his term of office ended or was discontinued, unless the Minister considered that there is justification for shortening the period.
Suspension from Office§
14h.
The Minister may, by written notice, suspend a member of the Disciplinary Committee from his office if an indictment or a complaint as referred to in section 14c(2) has been filed against him – until a final judgment is given in the matter.
Independence§
14i.
In the performance of his function, a member of the Disciplinary Committee is subject to no authority other than the authority of the law.
Remuneration for a Member of the Disciplinary Committee Who Is Not a State Employee§
14j.
A member of the Disciplinary Committee who is not a state employee shall be entitled to remuneration for his participation in the proceedings of the Disciplinary Committee, in the amounts and on the conditions prescribed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister of Finance.
Prosecutor and Investigator and Their Functions§
14k.
(a)The prosecutor before the Disciplinary Committee shall be an advocate authorised for that purpose by the Attorney General.
(b)A complaint against a real property broker shall be submitted to the Disciplinary Committee by a prosecutor.
(c)
(1)Complaints concerning disciplinary offences of a real property broker shall be investigated by a prosecutor or by a state employee who is a jurist and whom the Minister has authorised for that purpose (in this Law – investigator), all as the prosecutor shall decide;
(2)Investigators appointed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall act in accordance with the directions of the prosecutor and shall submit to him the findings of their investigation and its results.
(d)For the purpose of exercising their powers under this section, the prosecutor and the investigator shall have the powers under section 2 of the Criminal Procedure (Testimony) Ordinance, and section 3 of that Ordinance shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to an investigation conducted by a prosecutor or an investigator.
(e)If a prosecutor considers, whether on the basis of a complaint that has been investigated, on the basis of a judgment given by a court, or in any other manner, that there is prima facie evidence that a real property broker has committed a disciplinary offence, he shall file a complaint against him with the Disciplinary Committee, unless he considered that the circumstances of the matter as a whole are not appropriate for the filing of a complaint as aforesaid, and he shall notify the respondent of its filing.
Right of Inspection§
14l.
(a)Where a complaint has been filed, the respondent and his defence counsel may, at any reasonable time, inspect the investigation material in the possession of the prosecutor that relates to the complaint and make copies thereof.
(b)A respondent may request the Disciplinary Committee to order the prosecutor to permit him to inspect material that he claims, is investigation material and has not been made available for his inspection.
(c)A request under subsection (b) shall be heard before the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee sitting as a single judge.
(d)During the hearing of the request, the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee may inspect the material in dispute, if he considers that there is a need to do so.
(e)An appeal against a decision of the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee under subsection (c) may be brought within 15 days before a District Court, which shall hear the appeal before a single judge.
(f)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the provisions of Chapter III of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971, or permit inspection of material as referred to in subsection (a) whose non-disclosure is permitted or whose disclosure is prohibited under any law.
(g)A prosecutor shall not submit to the Disciplinary Committee as evidence material as referred to in subsection (a), unless the respondent or his defence counsel has been given a reasonable opportunity to inspect it and make copies thereof, unless they have waived this in writing, or material whose non-disclosure is permitted or whose disclosure is prohibited under any law.
Proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee§
14m.
(a)Disciplinary proceedings shall be conducted in the presence of the prosecutor and the respondent, but the Disciplinary Committee may conduct proceedings in the absence of the respondent, in one of the following cases:
(1)The respondent's defence counsel appeared in his place;
(2)The respondent was absent from the session without sufficient cause, after having been warned that if he were absent without sufficient cause the Committee would be entitled to hear his matter in his absence.
(b)
(1)The Disciplinary Committee shall sit in camera, unless it has ordered that the proceedings, in whole or in part, be held in public; if the respondent has requested that the proceedings be held in public, the Disciplinary Committee shall hold them in public, unless it has ordered, for special reasons to be recorded, that the proceedings, in whole or in part, be held in camera;
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), proceedings concerning a disciplinary offence as referred to in section 14a(5) shall be held in public, unless the judgment as referred to in that section, in whole or in part, is prohibited from publication.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b)(1) –
(1)The complainant is entitled to be present at proceedings held in camera on a complaint filed on the basis of his complaint, and he is also entitled to have a person accompanying him, of his choice, present with him at the proceedings, unless the Disciplinary Committee has decided, for special reasons to be recorded, not to permit their presence at the proceedings, in whole or in part;
(2)The Disciplinary Committee may, for special reasons to be recorded, permit another person who is not the complainant or the respondent to be present at the proceedings.
(d)The provisions concerning the prohibition of publication under section 70 of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to proceedings held in camera and to proceedings held in public under this section.
Right of Argument of the Respondent§
14n.
In proceedings before the Disciplinary Committee, the respondent shall be given an opportunity to present his arguments, to adduce evidence, to call witnesses and to cross-examine any witness who appeared before the Disciplinary Committee.
Rules of Procedure and Rules of Evidence§
14o.
(a)The Minister shall prescribe the rules of procedure before the Disciplinary Committee and on appeal to the court, including the manner of filing the appeal; in a matter for which no provision has been made in Regulations as aforesaid, the Committee shall act in the manner it considers most just and most expedient.
(b)The power to decide on matters of procedure relating to a particular complaint is vested in the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee, when the Committee is not sitting in judgment.
(c)The Disciplinary Committee is not subject to the rules of evidence, except for the rules concerning privileged evidence, unless the Minister has prescribed that some of the rules of evidence, as he shall prescribe, shall apply to the Disciplinary Committee.
(d)The findings and conclusions in the verdict in a final judgment in criminal proceedings that convicts the respondent shall be deemed to be proved in disciplinary proceedings against that respondent.
Incomplete Panel§
14p.
(a)If a member of the Disciplinary Committee who is not the chairperson of the Committee is absent from a session, the proceedings at that session shall take place before the members of the Committee who are present, if the parties have agreed thereto, unless the chairperson has decided to adjourn the proceedings.
(b)Proceedings conducted before an incomplete panel as referred to in subsection (a) shall not be concluded except before the Disciplinary Committee in its full composition.
Interrupted Panel§
14q.
(a)If a member of the Disciplinary Committee who is not the chairperson of the Committee is unable to conclude the proceedings, the chairperson shall add another member in his place who meets the same eligibility conditions, unless the chairperson has decided, for reasons to be recorded and after giving the parties an opportunity to present their arguments, that the addition of another member is likely to cause a miscarriage of justice.
(b)Where another member has been added as referred to in subsection (a), the Disciplinary Committee may continue the proceedings from the stage at which it had arrived in its previous composition, if it considered that no miscarriage of justice would be caused, after the parties have been given an opportunity to present their arguments; if the Committee has decided to continue the proceedings, it may treat the evidence it had gathered in its previous composition as if it had gathered it itself, or may gather it again, in whole or in part.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 14v, if two members of the Disciplinary Committee give a decision and their opinions are divided, the opinion of the chairperson of the Committee shall be decisive.
Ancillary Powers of the Disciplinary Committee§
14r.
(a)The Disciplinary Committee may, on its own initiative or at the request of a party –
(1)Summon a person to appear before it in order to testify or to produce a thing;
(2)Caution or administer an oath to a witness in accordance with the Law for the Amendment of the Law of Evidence (Witness Caution and Abolition of Oath), 5740-1980;
(3)Request the District Court within whose jurisdiction the Committee sits to issue an Order under section 13 of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971, for the purpose of taking evidence;
(4)Award travel and accommodation expenses and loss of earnings to witnesses summoned under this section, as for a witness summoned to testify in court.
(b)If the Disciplinary Committee has required a person to testify or to produce a thing as referred to in subsection (a)(1) and he refused to do so without justification satisfactory to the Committee, it may order that he be brought before it at a time it shall specify in the Order, provided that it has warned him that it intends to do so; the provisions under section 73a of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to a production order under this subsection.
(c)The power to decide on matters under this section relating to a particular complaint is vested in the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee, when the Committee is not sitting in judgment.
Disciplinary Measures§
14s.
(a)If the Disciplinary Committee finds that the respondent has committed a disciplinary offence, it may take against him one or more of the following measures:
(1)Warning;
(2)Reprimand;
(3)A fine not exceeding the amount referred to in section 61(a)(1) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977;
(4)Suspension of the licence for a fixed period not exceeding three years;
(5)Revocation of the licence.
(b)A person whose licence has been revoked pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a)(5) may not submit an application for a licence before seven years have elapsed from the day of revocation of the licence.
Conditional Disciplinary Measures§
14t.
(a)Where the disciplinary committee has decided to impose on a respondent a disciplinary measure of a fine or suspension of licence, it may direct that the said disciplinary measure shall be, in whole or in part, conditional.
(b)Where the disciplinary committee has decided as stated in subsection (a), the condition shall not be activated unless the respondent commits, within the period fixed in the decision of the disciplinary committee, which shall not be less than one year and not more than three years (hereinafter – the conditional period), one of the disciplinary offences specified in the decision (in this section – an additional offence), and the disciplinary committee finds, within the conditional period or thereafter, that the respondent has committed an additional offence as aforesaid.
(c)The conditional period shall be counted from the date of the giving of the decision of the disciplinary committee regarding the imposition of a conditional disciplinary measure against a respondent, unless the disciplinary committee has directed otherwise.
(d)Where the disciplinary committee has decided to impose on a respondent a disciplinary measure in respect of the additional offence, the disciplinary measure imposed for that additional offence shall not itself be conditional.
(e)Where a conditional disciplinary measure has been determined in respect of a person and the disciplinary committee has decided to impose on him a disciplinary measure in respect of an additional offence, the disciplinary committee shall direct that the conditional disciplinary measure be activated, unless it has decided to extend the conditional period as stated in subsection (f); the disciplinary committee may direct that the activation of the conditional disciplinary measure shall be subject to the outcome of the appeal against the imposition of the disciplinary measure in respect of the additional offence.
(f)Where the disciplinary committee has decided to impose on a respondent a disciplinary measure in respect of an additional offence, it may, instead of activating the conditional disciplinary measure, extend the conditional period or renew it for an additional period not exceeding two years; where the disciplinary committee extended the conditional period for an additional period before the expiry of the first conditional period, the additional conditional period shall commence upon the expiry of the first conditional period; where the disciplinary committee renewed the conditional period after the first conditional period had expired, the additional conditional period shall commence from the date of the giving of the decision, all unless the disciplinary committee has directed otherwise.
Other Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee§
14u.
The Disciplinary Committee may, in addition to the matters referred to in sections 14s and 14t –
(1)Order the respondent to pay the costs of the proceedings to the State or to the complainant in an amount it shall direct, not exceeding an amount or rate prescribed by the Minister, if it is satisfied that he conducted his defence in a vexatious or frivolous manner;
(2)Order the complainant to pay the costs of the proceedings to the State or to the respondent in an amount it shall direct, not exceeding an amount or rate prescribed by the Minister, if the respondent was acquitted and the Committee found that the complaint was filed for the purpose of vexation or without foundation;
(3)Order the State to pay the costs of the defence to the respondent, if the respondent was acquitted and the Committee found that there was no basis for filing the complaint or that other circumstances existed justifying such an order.
Disciplinary Committee in Which Opinions Are Divided§
14v.
If the opinions of the members of the Disciplinary Committee are divided, the majority opinion shall be decisive; if there is no majority for one opinion, the opinion that, in the view of the chairperson of the Committee, is more lenient to the respondent shall be decisive, provided however that if there is no majority opinion as to the type or extent of the disciplinary measure, the more stringent opinion shall be joined to the lenient opinion closest to it.
Appeal against a Decision of the Disciplinary Committee§
14w.
(a)The prosecutor and the respondent may appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee on a complaint before a District Court within 45 days from the day on which the decision concluding the proceedings on the complaint is given, and if the decision was given other than in the presence of the parties – within 45 days from the day of its service.
(b)A complainant may appeal before a District Court against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee under section 14u(2), within 45 days from the day of service of the Committee's decision.
(c)A judgment of a District Court on an appeal under this section may be appealed before the Supreme Court, if leave therefor has been granted by the President of the Supreme Court or by another judge of the Supreme Court designated for that purpose by its President, or if leave therefor was granted in the body of the judgment.
Stay of Execution of a Decision of the Disciplinary Committee§
14x.
(a)The filing of an appeal shall not operate as a stay of execution of the decision of the Disciplinary Committee against which the appeal has been filed, unless the Disciplinary Committee has decided otherwise, and if an appeal has been filed – unless the appellate court has decided otherwise.
(b)The respondent and the prosecutor may appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee under this section in the same manner as an appeal is brought against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee on a complaint, pursuant to section 14w.
Making Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee Available for Public Inspection§
14y.
(a)The Disciplinary Committee may make its decisions available for public inspection, on the website of the Ministry of Justice and by additional means, as it shall direct, all without stating the name of the respondent and other details that may serve to identify him (in this section – identifying details).
(b)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Disciplinary Committee may make its decision available for public inspection, in whole or in part, as referred to in that subsection, with the inclusion of identifying details, in the manner and for the period it shall direct, and after it has heard the prosecutor and the respondent and has weighed, inter alia, the harm to the privacy of the respondent or of a third party and the need to warn the public;
(2)Where the Disciplinary Committee has ordered that its decision be published on the internet, the publication shall be effected in such a manner that upon the expiry of the publication period, inspection of the identifying details shall be prevented, as far as possible.
(c)Decisions of the Disciplinary Committee shall not be made available for public inspection as long as they may be appealed, and if an appeal has been filed – as long as the appeal proceedings have not been concluded, unless the appellate court has decided otherwise.
(d)The respondent and the prosecutor may appeal against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee under this section in the same manner as an appeal is brought against a decision of the Disciplinary Committee on a complaint, pursuant to section 14w.
(e)The Minister, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, may prescribe provisions regarding the manner of inspection of decisions of the Disciplinary Committee.
Notice to the Complainant§
14z.
(a)A complainant is entitled to receive information on the stage at which the investigation of the complaint he has filed or the complaint related thereto is situated; however, information whose provision is prohibited under any law, or whose provision would, in the discretion of the prosecutor, harm the investigation or the privacy or wellbeing of a person, shall not be included in the information under this subsection.
(b)If the prosecutor has decided not to file a complaint concerning a disciplinary offence on the basis of a person's complaint, he shall notify the complainant thereof in a reasoned decision.
(c)Where a complaint concerning a disciplinary offence has been filed on the basis of a person's complaint, the prosecutor shall notify the complainant of the filing of the complaint in the matter, and of the Disciplinary Committee's decision on the complaint, if the complainant was not present at the time the decision was given; the prosecutor shall serve a copy of the Disciplinary Committee's decision on the complainant, unless the Disciplinary Committee has decided otherwise, for reasons to be recorded.
Suspension Pending Completion of Proceedings§
14aa.
(a)Where the Registrar has reasonable grounds to suspect that a real property broker has committed a disciplinary offence as referred to in section 14a, or that proceedings are being conducted against him under another disciplinary law or criminal proceedings in respect of an offence as referred to in section 14a(5), the Registrar may, if he considers that the gravity of the matter or the public interest so requires, after consulting the advisory committee and after affording the real property broker an opportunity to present his arguments, temporarily suspend the licence of the real property broker; for this purpose, "proceedings" – includes investigative proceedings.
(b)A suspension as referred to in subsection (a) shall remain in force until a decision is received from the competent authority not to prosecute the real property broker in disciplinary or criminal proceedings, and if he has been prosecuted in disciplinary or criminal proceedings – until a final judgment is given in those proceedings, all unless the Registrar, after consulting the advisory committee, orders an earlier date for the termination of the suspension.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), if six months have elapsed from the date of the Registrar's decision to suspend under subsection (a) and no decision has been received regarding the prosecution of the real property broker in disciplinary or criminal proceedings, the suspension shall lapse; however, if the Registrar considers that the gravity of the matter or the public interest so requires, he may, after consulting the advisory committee, order its extension for additional periods, provided that the total period of suspension shall not exceed 12 months from the date on which the licence was first suspended.
(d)The Registrar shall not publish notice of a suspension under this section except in accordance with provisions prescribed by the Minister; the Minister, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, may prescribe provisions regarding the publication of notice of a suspension under this section, provided that the period of publication shall not exceed the period of the suspension; where the Minister has prescribed provisions as aforesaid regarding internet publication of details of real property brokers whose licences have been suspended, he shall prescribe therein the means to prevent, as far as possible, access to such details upon the expiry of the publication period.
(e)Where the licence of a real property broker has been suspended under this section, and the disciplinary committee has decided to suspend the licence under section 14s(a)(4), the period of suspension under this section shall count towards the period of suspension imposed by the disciplinary committee as aforesaid.
Disciplinary Proceedings and Criminal Proceedings§
14ab.
(a)Punishment or acquittal in criminal proceedings or in disciplinary proceedings under another law shall not prevent the institution of proceedings under this Law against a real property broker in respect of the same act or omission, and the imposition of measures or acquittal by the disciplinary committee in respect of the same act or omission shall not prevent the institution of criminal proceedings or disciplinary proceedings under another law against him.
(b)Where an indictment has been filed against a real property broker in respect of an act or omission that also constitutes grounds for a hearing before the disciplinary committee under this Law, the disciplinary committee may stay its proceedings until a final judgment is given in the criminal proceedings.
Professional Ethics Rules§
14ac.
The Minister, in consultation with the Registrar and the advisory committee and with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee, may prescribe professional ethics rules regarding the conduct and professional duties of real property brokers.
Application of Disciplinary Jurisdiction to a Person Who Has Ceased to Be a Real Property Broker and to a Person Whose Licence Has Been Suspended§
14ad.
(a)A real property broker whose licence has been revoked shall continue to be subject to disciplinary jurisdiction before the disciplinary committee in respect of matters that occurred prior to the revocation; for this purpose, a licence that was revoked at the broker's own request or a licence that was not renewed by him after it had expired shall also be treated as a revoked licence.
(b)A real property broker whose licence has been suspended shall continue, during the period of suspension, to be subject to disciplinary jurisdiction before a disciplinary committee in respect of matters that occurred prior to or during the suspension.
Penalties§
15.
A person who contravenes a provision of section 2 or section 13 is liable to one year's imprisonment and a fine of four times the amount prescribed in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977.
Revocation or Suspension of Licence§
16.
Where a real property broker has been convicted of an offence under this Law, or under the Consumer Protection Law, 5741-1981, or of an offence under Section F or Section G of Chapter XI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, the court may, in addition to any other penalty, order that the licence of the real property broker be revoked or suspended for a period to be determined by it; and the court may revoke or suspend the licence conditionally upon the broker not committing such offences as the court shall specify within a period not exceeding 3 years.
Powers of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade§
17.
Without derogating from the provisions of section 15, an offence under section 15 shall also be treated as an offence under the Consumer Protection Law, 5741-1981, and the Commissioner for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade under that Law shall have, in respect of offences under this Law, all the powers vested in him under Chapters E and F of that Law.
Voluntary Suspension of Licence§
17a.
(a)A real property broker who requests not to engage in real property brokerage may suspend his licence by notice delivered, in advance and in writing, to the Registrar (in this section – voluntary suspension of licence).
(b)Once a real property broker has given notice of voluntary suspension of his licence, and for so long as he has not withdrawn his notice, he shall not be liable to pay an annual fee for the period commencing on the first January following his notice and until he notifies the Registrar in writing of the cancellation of the voluntary suspension of his licence.
(c)A real property broker who has given notice of voluntary suspension of his licence after having paid an annual fee shall not be entitled to the refund of any amount paid.
(d)Where a notice of voluntary suspension of a licence is cancelled, the real property broker shall pay, as a condition for the renewal of the licence, a proportional annual fee in an amount equal to the product of the annual fee multiplied by the months of the year remaining from the date of cancellation of the notice until December of that year, divided by twelve; for this purpose, a part of a month shall be treated as a whole month.
(e)Where a notice of voluntary suspension of a licence is cancelled, the provisions of section 18(b) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, in respect of non-payment of the fee from the date of cancellation of the notice.
Fees§
18.
(a)The Minister shall prescribe, with the approval of the Interior and Environmental Protection Committee –
(1)a fee for the examination required for the purpose of obtaining a licence under this Law;
(2)a one-time licence fee;
(3)an annual fee.
(b)Where a licence holder has not paid the fee on time, he shall not be entitled to act as a real property broker for so long as he has not paid the fee together with shekel interest as defined in the Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961; the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961, shall apply to such shekel interest, with the necessary modifications.
Implementation and Regulations§
19.
The Minister is responsible for the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation.
Transitional Provisions§
20.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2, a citizen or resident of Israel who, on the eve of the commencement of this Law, was engaged in real property brokerage, may continue to engage in real property brokerage – even without a licence – for a further two years from the date of commencement of this Law.
(b)A person who is over the age of 60 or who holds a full academic degree and who has proved, to the satisfaction of the Registrar, that he was engaged in real property brokerage during the three years preceding the commencement of this Law, may be exempted by the Registrar from the examination.
(c)A person who has proved, to the satisfaction of the Registrar, that he was engaged in real property brokerage as his primary occupation for at least four years out of the six years preceding the 23rd day of Adar Bet 5757 (1 April 1997), may be exempted by the Registrar from the examination.
(d)An application for an exemption as referred to in subsections (b) and (c) shall be submitted to the Registrar, in writing, by the 17th day of Nisan 5759 (31 March 1999).
(e)(Repealed)
Commencement§
21.
This Law shall come into force on the 23rd day of Adar Bet 5757 (1 April 1997).
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LawReal Estate & LandCivil Law
חוק המתווכים במקרקעין, תשנ"ו-1996
Real Property Brokerage Law
metvakhim
metvakhim bekarkain
real estate brokerage
property broker law
real estate broker regulation
brokerage law 1996
metvakhim 5756
real estate intermediary
property brokerage regulation