ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Hagit Bavly and Adi Daniel Zamir, Arnon, Tadmor-Levy
2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law General information about zoning and building rights with respect to real estate property can be extracted from the websites of the planning authorities. One can obtain official information by filing an application and paying an applica - tion fee (negligible amount). In some cases, the applicant is required to submit a measurement of the property in order to receive said official information. A landowner seeking to rezone their property or add building rights can initiate a planning pro - cess, provided that the proposed plan is con - sistent with binding plans that are higher up in the planning hierarchy, and subject, of course, to the planning policy of the applicable planning authorities. In the last decade, general city plans have been approved for many of the larger cities in Israel, stipulating planning policies and prin - ciples such as: • permitted uses; • height limits and density; and • the location of public buildings and public areas, road systems, etc. Any initiated plans must comply with these prin - ciples. 2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase Various laws allow property to be expropriated for public use (such as roads, parks, recreation areas, nature reserves, parking areas, etc). Before initiating such a procedure, authorities must post notice of the intended expropriation in the vicinity of the property, and deliver this notice to the owner in person, to allow them to
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and its con - tractual consequences, the wording of clauses regarding circumstances beyond the control of the parties (and which will not be considered a breach), is now handled with extra care and cau - tion. 2.6 Important Areas of Law for Investors Before entering into a transaction for real estate property, the buyer should inspect the items detailed in 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence . If the property is part of a “co-operative house”, the buyer should inspect the “co-operative house” documents; if the rights to the property are long-term lease rights, the terms of the lease should be reviewed. 2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination There is no specific law in Israel dealing with responsibility for soil contamination; therefore this subject is handled in accordance with the seller’s responsibilities in the contract, and with general legal obligations, such as the obligation to act in good faith and under court precedents (that are binding). The seller of a property has a duty to disclose extensive information about hidden defects, such as soil contamination. This duty does not require actual knowledge of the contamination, and mere negligence is sufficient to establish the seller’s full liability towards the buyer. The allocation of responsibilities between the parties is examined based on (among other things) the extent of the seller’s responsibility in disclosing the contamination, compared to the scope of the inspections that the buyer was required to conduct.
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