Price for tenants and home improvement – ​​everything you need to know about the programs that made the real estate market cheaper

How did the Mehir Lemishtakon program work? What is the difference between homeless people and those who have improved their housing? And what is important to check before entering the process?

The "Price for a Tenant" program was a government initiative in Israel that was designed to help young couples and the homeless purchase apartments at reduced prices in the real estate market. It operated from 2015-2020 and, within its framework, apartments were built at prices relatively low than market prices, through subsidization of the land by the state and the contractors' commitment to reducing the price of the apartments. Alongside this, tracks were also created for "housing improvers" that were intended for those who already had an apartment and wanted to upgrade their living conditions.

1. What is the "Price for Tenants" program?

The "Price for a Resident" program was launched to deal with the cost of living, and in particular with the high housing prices in Israel. The goal of the program was to increase the supply of apartments at affordable prices, and to make it easier for young and homeless couples to purchase a home. At the center of the program was the tender, in which state land was sold to developers and contractors at discounted prices, in exchange for a commitment to build apartments at a reasonable price. Buyers in the program were awarded apartments at prices significantly lower than market prices, and sometimes even at a discount of hundreds of thousands of shekels.

2. What is the "Housing Improvers" program?

The "Housing Improvements" program is an additional track that was added to the "Price for Tenants" program and was intended to assist people who already owned an apartment and wanted to improve their living conditions. In many cases, these were families who had expanded and wanted to move to a larger apartment or people whose living requirements had changed.

A. Conditions for participation in the "Housing Improvers" program

To participate in the program, participants were required to meet several criteria:

• Own only one apartment.
• Own an apartment with 4 rooms or less, according to the definitions set by the state.
• A commitment to sell the existing apartment within a certain period of time (usually 12 months) from the moment of receiving the new apartment.

B. The process of participating in the program

Home improvement companies participated in the "Price for the Tenant" tenders, similar to the homeless, but they were often allocated a limited number of apartments from the various projects. They were given the opportunity to purchase apartments at a discounted price, but with the obligation to sell the existing apartment within the specified time period.

3. The differences between the "Price for Tenants" program for the homeless and "Housing Improvers"

• Apartment prices : Homeless people were given priority in tenders, and sometimes they were given an additional discount beyond the discounted price, with the aim of encouraging new buyers