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Labor Law

What housing must an Israeli employer provide to a foreign worker?

An employer of a foreign worker must provide suitable accommodation for the whole period of employment and for seven days after it ends. The duty comes from the Foreign Workers Law 5751-1991, and the standards are set out in regulations that fix a minimum floor area per worker, a maximum number of workers per bedroom, heating and cooling, hot water, cooking facilities and sanitary facilities. The employer may deduct only a capped monthly amount toward the accommodation, set by region and updated each year, and no deduction at all is permitted for a live-in caregiver housed in the employer's own home.

The accommodation duty sits alongside two other statutory obligations in the same law: private medical insurance for the worker, and a written employment contract in a language the worker understands. The accommodation regulations translate the general duty into measurable standards, covering minimum space per occupant, occupancy limits per room, a bed and storage space for each worker, a kitchen with fixed cooking facilities and refrigeration, and ratios of toilets and showers to the number of workers housed. Enforcement runs through the Ministry of Labor's Regulation and Enforcement Administration, which can impose financial sanctions on the employer and on a company officer personally.

Deductions are where most disputes start. The employer has to show that the deduction sits within the regional ceiling, that the worker actually received the accommodation, and that total deductions from wages stay within the statutory cap. Deducting above the ceiling is treated as an unlawful wage deduction and can be recovered in the Labor Court together with compensation for delayed wages. A worker who leaves keeps the accommodation for a further seven days, which matters most when a permit is being transferred to a new employer. The wider set of foreign worker rights in Israel applies whether or not the worker holds a valid permit.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Foreign Workers Law 5751-1991, with the Foreign Workers (Prohibition of Unlawful Employment and Assurance of Fair Conditions) (Suitable Accommodation) Regulations 5760-2000
  • Competent authority: Regulation and Enforcement Administration, Ministry of Labor (Minhal Hasdara VeAchifa); claims go to the Regional Labor Court
  • Minimum standards: at least 4 square meters of floor space per worker, no more than six workers in a bedroom, heating and cooling, hot water, a bed and storage for each worker, and kitchen and sanitary facilities in fixed ratios
  • Deduction ceiling: capped monthly amounts set by region and updated annually, running roughly NIS 350 to 600 for accommodation plus a smaller allowance for related expenses (2026); no accommodation deduction for a live-in caregiver housed by the employer
  • Duration: accommodation must be maintained throughout the employment and for seven days after it ends
  • Penalties: financial sanctions under the Increased Enforcement of Labor Laws Law 5772-2011, commonly in the range of NIS 5,000 to 35,000 per violation, alongside criminal liability under the Foreign Workers Law

From the full guide: Foreign Worker Rights in Israel: Labor Law Protections and Entitlements

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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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