Applying for a Building Permit in Israel
A building permit is not a form but a staged process, each step of which is governed by time limits and conditions. Most delays come not from refusal but from an application filed before the preliminary conditions were in place. This guide sets out the stages, the deadlines and the decision points.
When a permit is needed and what is exempt
Section 145 of the Planning and Building Law, 5725-1965, sets out which works require a permit, including erecting a building, demolition, an addition and a change of use. Work carried out without a permit is a criminal offence, and administrative enforcement measures such as a stop order and a demolition order sit alongside it.
Against that, the Planning and Building (Works and Structures Exempt from a Permit) Regulations, 5774-2014 exempt a closed list of works, including a pergola, a small storeroom, a fence of limited height, a carport, installing an air conditioner or a solar water heater, and enclosing a balcony on conditions.
The exemption is conditional, not general. In most cases it applies only where the work conforms to the applicable plan, sits within the building lines, and sometimes only subject to prior notice to the local committee and preparation of the application by a qualified professional. Work done in reliance on the exemption where the conditions are not met is building without a permit in every sense.
And why it matters so much. Building without a permit is not only a criminal offence. It is also an ongoing civil obstacle: it can frustrate the registration of rights and delay proceedings, and a bank will not grant a mortgage over areas built without a lawful permit. Alongside these come fines and demolition orders, as detailed on the demolition order page.
The information file
Before the application is filed, a request for permit information is made to the local committee. The information file is the document that gathers everything applying to the plot: the plans in force, the building rights, the building lines, the spatial guidelines, the requirements of outside bodies, and the conditions that will be attached to the permit.
The committee provides the information file within 30 business days of the request being found complete, and the completeness check itself takes up to 5 business days. The file is valid for two years.
This is the stage at which it becomes clear whether the intended design is possible at all. Skipping it and applying on assumptions means discovering the gap at a later and more expensive point.
The process and the deadlines
The application is filed through the online licensing system by a licensed application editor, an architect or an engineer. From there it passes through a chain of checks:
| Stage | What it is | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Completeness check | A technical check that the documents were filed | Up to 5 business days |
| Information file | The rights and requirements on the plot | Up to 30 business days |
| Threshold check | Whether the application matches the information file | Up to 10 business days |
| Spatial review and committee decision | Substantive examination against the planning position | Up to 45 business days, and up to 90 where relief is sought |
| Design review at a control institute | Checking the design against the standards | Up to 30 business days |
| Payment notice and issue of the permit | Fees and levies | Notice within 10 business days |
A permit is valid for three years. If building has not begun within that period the permit lapses and an application to renew it is needed.
At the end of the examination the committee has three courses open to it: approving the application and issuing a permit matching it; refusing the application, in which case the applicant has a right of objection and appeal; or approving the application subject to conditions it sets.
Conditions for the permit
Even after the committee has decided to approve, the permit is not issued until the conditions set in the decision are met. These usually include:
- Building fees and development levies to the local authority: roads, drainage, water and sewage.
- Betterment levy, where the plan under which the building is proposed increased the value of the property. Obtaining the permit is a realisation of rights, and therefore the point at which it becomes payable.
- Approvals from outside bodies: Home Front Command for the protected space, fire services, health, the Antiquities Authority, and sometimes further authorities depending on where the plot is.
- Consents within a condominium, where the work touches the common property or shared building rights.
Neighbour consent is not always a legal condition for a permit, but a neighbour objection almost always lengthens the process. Where the work touches the common property, the consent required under the Land Law is a condition, and it is examined separately from the planning question.
Form 4 and the completion certificate
A permit allows building. It does not allow occupation. Form 4 is the approval to connect to services, and without it the structure cannot be connected to electricity, water and gas. It is issued once the relevant approvals have been produced and execution control has taken place.
The completion certificate is issued at the end of the works and confirms that the structure was built in accordance with the permit. It is the document showing there is no deviation, and it is called for later in transactions, in bank financing and in registration.
The gap between the two is a common source of trouble: a building occupied on Form 4 but without a completion certificate can turn out to be a problem precisely at the point of sale, years afterwards.
Relief, non-conforming use and appeal
Where what is sought departs from the plan, there are two routes. Relief is a limited departure from the provisions of the plan, for example in the building lines or the number of dwelling units. Non-conforming use is a use the plan does not permit, for example running a business from a residential apartment. Both require publication and a right to object, and both lengthen the process.
A decision of a local committee on a permit may be appealed to the district appeals committee within 30 days of receipt of the decision. The right of appeal belongs both to an applicant whose application was refused and to a person aggrieved by a decision to approve. Decisions on the betterment levy run to different deadlines.
And what about a neighbour’s objection to a permit? Regulation 37 of the Planning and Building Regulations (Building Licensing) 5776-2016 provides (in free translation): “a holder of a right in the land who received notice of the filing of a permit application under regulation 36 may file a written objection to the permit application within 15 days of receiving the notice of its filing; the engineer shall send a copy of the objection received to the applicant and to the preparer of the application”. For years, local committees also heard objectors who held no right in the land. In AAA 1461/20 Antrim Investment (Israel) Ltd v. Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee the Supreme Court struck down that practice and narrowed the circle of those entitled to object, holding that “an administrative authority is empowered to act only by virtue of a power conferred on it by law, and once that power has been clearly limited, there is no room to widen it at the authority’s discretion”. The conclusion: the authority may not entertain an objection from just anyone, only from a holder of a right in the land who received notice as required.
Every case is examined on its own facts. For a consultation with a lawyer from the real estate department call 02-5953322, send a WhatsApp message to 050-4411343 or leave your details in the form below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
What people ask most often
How long does a building permit take?
I built a pergola without a permit. Is that acceptable?
What is the difference between Form 4 and a completion certificate?
The committee refused my application. What can be done?
Is neighbour consent needed for a permit?
All Real Estate Department pages
Before a permit application is filed
We accompany permit applications from the information file to the decision, and represent you before the committee. Tell us about the plot and what is planned, and we will chart the right route for the application.