By Ariel Novick, Israel Law Team. Contact them at 052-353-0042
The Fair Rental Contract Law - 2017.
The Fair Rental Contract Law (חוק שכירות הוגנת) (hereinafter, the "Law") protects tenants if the landlord fails to meet obligations at his end. The Law endeavors to ensure that a tenant is living in an apartment that is suitable for living purposes and requires that any defect in the apartment that pertains to the structure of the building, responsibility for repairs and making sure everything is in working order falls on the landlord. The Law provides that there is a breach of contract if the residential unit subject to the lease is uninhabitable and the conditions that would make an apartment uninhabitable include: (a) burst pipes; (b) lack of sewage connection; (c) lack of electrical/lighting system; (d) no ventilation or natural light; (d) lack of a lockable front door or closing window; (e) lack of a drinkable water system e.g. faucet with running water; (f) no separation between the bathroom and the apartment; (g) the state of the apartment is a safety/health hazard to the tenant.
In the event of any of the above mentioned, the landlord needs to take care to fix or repair the defect or non-compliance in the property within a reasonable period of time. the tenant may make such repair himself and require the landlord to reimburse him or reduce the rent until such repair is made based upon a proportionate share of the damage/non-conformance to the premises as a whole; if the defect or non-conformance is urgent, the tenant is not required to wait a reasonable period of time. Failure of the landlord to make the necessary repairs permits the tenants to raise this issue with the housing committee of the apartment complex as well as to file a complaint with the Mifakeach al Batim Meshutafim; The landlord-tenant contract can't circumvent the law and the landlord has no protection if he does not meet his responsibilities. If damage was caused to the structure of the apartment, the landlord must pay for repairs unless the damage was caused by the tenants through gross negligence or improper use of the apartment.
Unless the parties agree to the contrary, the tenant is responsible for repairing damage in the apartment including defects, which are caused by unreasonable use by the tenant. The landlord is responsible to make repairs which have significant cost within 30 days of receiving notice from the tenant provided that urgent repairs (which would make the apartment reasonably unlivable) must generally be made within 3 days from receipt of notice from the tenant;
One last point, the security which a landlord may require and which imposes a financial burden on the tenant, may not exceed the lower of one-third the rent for the entire term of the lease or 3 months’ rent. The conditions pursuant to which the landlord may access the security are also set forth (e.g. non-payment of rent, failure to make required repairs). Additionally, the landlord may not access the security without first giving the tenant notice of the breach of contract and a period of time (7 days) in which to repair such said breach.
If you have any questions, you may contact the Israel Law Team: www.IsraelLawTeam.com; https://www.janglo.net/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=11423&Itemid=239
