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Family Law

Can a spouse claim use payments from the other spouse who stays in the jointly owned Israeli home after separation?

Yes, in principle. A co-owner who is shut out of a jointly owned apartment can claim dmei shimush ra'ui (fair use payments) from the co-owner in possession, under Sections 31 and 33 of the Land Law 5729-1969. Israeli family courts apply this between separated spouses, but they do not award it automatically. The claim usually runs from the point the absent spouse actually demanded payment or was effectively locked out, and it is frequently reduced or cancelled where the occupying spouse is raising the couple's children in that home.

Section 31 of the Land Law lets each co-owner use jointly owned property without the other's consent, provided that use does not prevent the other co-owner from doing the same. Section 33 then makes a co-owner who used the property exclusively liable to pay the other for that use. Israeli family courts have grafted this onto separation cases: once the couple no longer share the home, the spouse who remains inside is enjoying an asset that is half someone else's. The court values the benefit by reference to market rent for the apartment, awards half of it to the absent spouse, and offsets mortgage payments, arnona, va'ad bayit dues and structural repairs the occupying spouse actually paid.

The doctrine carries a large exception. Where the occupying spouse has custody of minor children, courts treat the housing element of child support as already securing the children's right to stay in the family home, and they routinely set fair use payments at nil for that period. Two practical points matter for a spouse living abroad. The clock generally starts on a written demand rather than on the date of separation, so an early demand letter is worth far more than a claim raised years later. And the claim is normally brought together with a partition action, because the sale or buy-out of the apartment is what finally settles the account.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Sections 27, 31 and 33, Land Law 5729-1969, applied by the family courts to separated co-owning spouses
  • Competent authority: Family Court (Beit Mishpat LeMishpacha), which hears both the fair use claim and the partition of the apartment
  • How it is calculated: market rent assessed by a licensed appraiser, halved, less the occupying spouse's payments for mortgage, arnona, va'ad bayit and structural repairs
  • Children exception: where minor children live in the home with the occupying parent, courts commonly reduce the award to nil for that period
  • Limitation: seven years under the Limitation Law 5718-1958, with awards in practice running from the date of a written demand
  • Fees: an appraiser's report on a residential apartment costs approximately NIS 2,500–4,000 (2026)

From the full guide: Who Gets to Stay in the Marital Home During an Israeli Divorce?

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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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