Quick Answer: In Israel, building, adding area, enclosing a balcony, changing the facade or the structure, or changing a property's permitted use all require a building permit (heter bniya). The permit is issued by the local planning and building committee under the Planning and Building Law 1965. A defined list of minor works is exempt. Foreign owners have the same rights as Israelis: a licensed professional prepares and files the application online, and permits are generally valid for three years. Unpermitted work stays with the property. A buyer inherits the enforcement risk and the problems with mortgages and future permits.

Whether you bought an apartment in Tel Aviv or a house in the Galilee, the renovation question is the same: what does the plan allow, does this work need a permit, and how long will it take? This guide answers those questions, explains the risks of buying with unpermitted construction, and covers what changes when you manage the project from abroad.

1. Israel's planning framework

Israeli planning works in layers. The National Planning and Building Council sets national outline plans (TAMA). District committees approve district plans. Local planning and building committees handle local plans and issue building permits. Some local committees cover a single city, and others cover several municipalities or a regional council.

What you may build on a plot is set by the plans that apply to it, usually called the taba (from tochnit binyan ir, town building plan). The plans determine:

  • permitted uses (residential, commercial, mixed and so on);
  • building rights, meaning the floor area that may be built, often split into main and service areas;
  • number of floors, height and building lines (setbacks);
  • specific rules for roofs, balconies, basements and additions.

Many local committees also publish spatial guidelines (hanchayot merchaviyot). These are design rules on things like balcony enclosures, pergolas, air-conditioning units and fences, and they apply on top of the plan. Whether something is physically possible matters less than what these documents allow.

2. What requires a building permit

Section 145 of the Planning and Building Law requires a permit for a broad range of activity: building, adding to or demolishing a structure, and using land or a building for a purpose other than the one permitted. In practice the following need a permit:

  • any addition to built area: a room, a roof room, an enclosed balcony, a basement conversion;
  • structural changes, including removing or altering load-bearing walls or columns;
  • changes to the facade or to external openings beyond what the exemption rules allow;
  • splitting one apartment into two, or merging apartments;
  • a change of use, for example residential to office. A temporary non-conforming use requires a separate approval with public notice.

Works exempt from a permit

The Planning and Building (Works and Structures Exempt from a Permit) Regulations 2014 list works that need no permit if they meet the conditions set for each. Common examples are pergolas that meet the regulations' definition (a light structure without walls whose shading surface is substantially open), solar water heaters, air-conditioning units, and low fences and retaining walls within set height limits. The exemption applies only if the work is done by someone with rights in the property, is structurally safe, and complies with the applicable plans and spatial guidelines. Some exempt works must be reported to the local authority, and the government offers an online reporting service for that.

Interior work

Ordinary interior renovation (flooring, kitchens, bathrooms, painting, replacing fixtures) does not need a permit. Moving or removing non-load-bearing partitions generally does not either. Anything that touches the structure, the building's shared systems, the facade or the apartment's area does. If an engineer has to sign off on safety, assume a permit question exists and ask your architect before work starts.

3. Building rights: your property's development potential

Building rights (zchuyot bniya) are the area the plan allows on the plot. The key question is whether they are already used up:

  • Used up: nothing more can be added without a relief (hakla'a, a limited deviation approved after public notice) or a new plan.
  • Unused rights can carry real value, for example a future roof apartment or an extension.

Apartment buildings. In a registered condominium, unused building rights generally belong to all apartment owners together unless the bylaws allocate them. Building on the roof or in common areas, or taking building rights for one apartment, usually requires the consent of the other owners as set out in the bylaws and the Land Law. The local committee will also require notice to the other owners. Check the condominium registration and bylaws before relying on "unused rights".

Israel Land Authority (ILA) land. About 93% of land in Israel is state-owned and leased through the ILA. For leasehold property, a permit application generally requires ILA consent. Depending on the lease terms, adding building rights may involve a payment to the ILA. Check the lease before you budget the project.

Betterment levy. When a new plan, a relief or a non-conforming-use approval increases the value of the property, the local committee charges a betterment levy (hetel hashbacha) of 50% of the increase in value. It is collected when the owner realizes that value, typically when a permit is issued or the property is sold. Partial exemptions exist, for example for some expansions of a home the owner lives in. Ask for the levy assessment early, because it can exceed every other cost of a small addition. This is different from betterment tax on a sale; see our betterment tax guide.

Urban renewal. If your building may be part of an urban-renewal project (TAMA 38-type strengthening and additions, or pinui-binui demolish-and-rebuild), the rights picture can change completely. See our TAMA 38 guide.

4. Applying for a permit, step by step

Applications are filed online through the national Rishui Zamin (Available Licensing) system used by local committees. Most of the process can be handled for an owner who lives abroad.

  1. Hire a licensed professional. The owner (or another holder of rights) is the applicant. The plans must be prepared and signed by a licensed professional (an architect, engineer or certified practical engineer, depending on the project's size), plus a structural engineer where the structure is affected. Choose someone who regularly works with your local committee.
  2. Check the plans and spatial guidelines. Your professional pulls the applicable plans, the building's permit file and the spatial guidelines, and confirms what is allowed before any design work.
  3. Obtain consents. Depending on the work, you may need the consent of the other apartment owners, the ILA (for leasehold land) and, where a bank holds a mortgage, the bank.
  4. File the application. It includes drawings, a site survey, proof of rights in the property and the required professional statements. Applications needing a relief or a non-conforming-use approval require public notice and give neighbors time to object.
  5. Committee decision and conditions. A decision approving the application is generally valid for two years. Before the permit is issued you must meet its conditions, which include paying permit fees, development levies and any betterment levy, and supplying approvals from bodies such as Home Front Command or fire services where relevant.
  6. Permit issued, then build. Under the Planning and Building (Licensing) Regulations 2016, a permit is generally valid for three years. The committee can extend it by up to three more years. Older permits issued under the previous regulations may have different terms.
  7. Supervision, completion and registration. Work is supervised by the professionals named in the permit. At the end, the committee issues a completion certificate (teudat gmar), and for new buildings or units it approves connection to utilities. If the addition changes the apartment's registered area, update the Land Registry or condominium registration as well.
In Practice: Owners most often skip the last step. The permit is approved and the work finished, but the Land Registry still shows the old area, or the completion certificate was never obtained. Years later, a buyer's lawyer or bank appraiser flags the gap and the sale stalls while it is fixed. Budget for completion and registration as part of the project, not as an afterthought.

5. Unpermitted construction: risks, enforcement and legalization

Unpermitted work is common in older Israeli apartments: enclosed balconies, roof rooms, merged storerooms and split units. For a buyer, the issues are practical as much as legal:

  • Enforcement follows the structure. Demolition orders and enforcement proceedings target the illegal work itself. A change of owner does not end them, so a buyer can inherit the problem.
  • Enforcement was tightened in 2017. Amendment 116 to the Planning and Building Law took effect in October 2017. It strengthened administrative enforcement (administrative demolition and stop-work orders, administrative fines) and narrowed courts' power to delay demolition orders.
  • Old work is not automatically safe. Age can limit some enforcement routes. Even so, unpermitted work still blocks or complicates new permits for the property, and banks' appraisers may exclude it from the value for mortgage purposes.
  • Legalization (hachshara) through a retroactive permit is possible only if the work could have been approved under the applicable plan, or with a relief. You pay fees, levies and possibly fines. If the work exceeds what the plan allows, legalization is not available.

Due diligence before buying:

  • have an architect or engineer compare the property with the approved plans in the municipal building file (tik binyan);
  • check the Land Registry extract and, for condominiums, the registered plans and bylaws (attachments, roof and yard rights);
  • ask the municipality or local committee whether there are open enforcement files on the property;
  • if you knowingly buy with irregular construction, price it in. Get the seller's written disclosure and allocate in the contract who pays if enforcement comes.

A seller who knew of unpermitted work and did not disclose it may face cancellation or damages claims. See our guides on due diligence and cancelling a property purchase.

6. Practical points for foreign owners

  • Language. Plans, decisions and correspondence are in Hebrew. Ask your architect for written English summaries of every decision and condition.
  • Power of attorney. Signatures on applications, consents and payment arrangements can be given through a power of attorney to your Israeli lawyer or representative. Sign it before an Israeli consul, or before a local notary with an apostille.
  • Supervision. A contractor who knows the owner is abroad has less reason to follow the permit closely. Appoint an independent supervising engineer or project manager who reports to you, and pay against milestones the supervisor has signed off.
  • Contractor assurances. "That doesn't need a permit" from a contractor is not advice. Get the answer from your architect in writing, with reference to the exemption regulations or the plan.
  • Insurance. Make sure a contractor's all-risks and third-party policy covers the works and the neighbors' property, and tell your home insurer about the renovation.
Illustrative scenario (hypothetical): A couple living in London buys an older Jerusalem apartment and wants to open the kitchen into the living room. Their contractor says no permit is needed. Their architect checks the original permit drawings and finds that the wall is load-bearing. She advises a structural engineer's design and a permit application. The work starts later than planned but is fully permitted. When the couple later sell, the buyer's lawyer finds a building file that matches the apartment, and the sale is not delayed.