What happens at the handover (masirat chazaka) of an Israeli apartment?

Israeli sale contracts treat handover and final payment as reciprocal obligations, so the seller may withhold possession until the balance is paid and the buyer may withhold the balance until the apartment is delivered in the agreed condition. The handover protocol is not a statutory document, but Israeli courts treat it as the primary evidence of what the buyer actually received. For a new apartment the Sale (Apartments) Law 5733-1973 sets statutory warranty periods that start running from handover, ranging from one year for finishes to several years for structural elements. Delivery cannot lawfully take place before the local planning and building committee issues a Form 4 occupancy permit, and a developer who delivers without one exposes the buyer to municipal enforcement.

A foreign buyer who cannot attend should send an attorney or a surveyor under a power of attorney rather than waive the walkthrough. Take dated photographs, record the meter numbers, and write every defect into the protocol itself rather than a follow-up email, because the protocol is the document a court reads first. Ask at the same meeting for the bank guarantee release, appliance warranties, the building committee contact, and the condominium regulations (takanon). Arnona liability moves to the buyer from the handover date, so a copy of the signed protocol has to reach the municipality and the utility accounts should be switched the same day. Our guide to the Israeli property purchase agreement explains how handover clauses are drafted.

From the full guide: Property Purchase Agreement in Israel: Foreign Buyer's Guide

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