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Can a creditor attach an Israeli apartment that is registered with a chevra meshakenet instead of the Land Registry?

Yes. Where title was never transferred to the Land Registry, the apartment is recorded in the books of a housing company (chevra meshakenet), and the Execution Office can direct an attachment at that company. The order is served on the company, which then refuses to register any transfer or charge over the debtor’s rights. Because the attachment bites on a contractual right rather than on registered title, it ranks behind anything the company already recorded, typically a bank mortgage. A standard title search will not reveal these apartments at all.

Much of Israel’s older housing stock, and many newer projects built on Israel Land Authority land, was never split into a condominium register, so the buyer holds a personal contractual right against the company that built or manages the block. The Execution Law 5727-1967 allows an attachment to be laid on any right of the debtor that is held by a third party, and the housing company is treated as that third party. The Execution Office serves the order, the company notes it against the debtor’s file, and any later sale or mortgage is blocked. Realization then runs through a receiver appointed under the same law.

A foreign creditor who searches only the Land Registry will conclude that the debtor owns nothing, which is the single most common error in these files. Identify the housing company from the original purchase contract, the municipal tax bill, or the mortgage bank, then apply to the Execution Office registrar for an attachment directed at that company by name. Expect a handling fee and a request for the debtor’s identity number before the company will confirm anything. Establish whether a bank charge was recorded first, because it takes priority and may leave nothing behind, a point covered in the guide to property liens in Israel.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Execution Law 5727-1967 (attachment of a debtor’s rights held by a third party, and appointment of a receiver)
  • Competent authority: Execution Office registrar (Rasham Hotza’a LaPoal); the housing company records and honours the order
  • Fees: opening an execution file costs approximately 1.25% of the debt; each attachment application adds roughly NIS 30–60
  • Timeline: an attachment order against a third party is normally issued within 3–10 days and served the same week
  • Key check: the housing company’s register is not public, so confirmation of the debtor’s rights usually requires the Execution Office order itself

From the full guide: Property Lien in Israel (Shiabud Nechasim): A Complete Creditor’s Guide

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Get a Free Consultation with Adv. Eli ShimonyPrepared under the direction of Adv. Eli Shimony, Eli Shimony Law Office · Editorial policy

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