Guide · Israel
Your rights as a tenant in Israel
Since 2017 Israeli law sets out what a landlord owes a tenant and what a lease may not take away: a flat fit to live in, a cap on the deposit, repairs within fixed days and a list of bills you never pay. Most of these rules hold whatever your lease says. Here they are, with what to do when they are not kept.
7 min read · Figures checked November 2026
In short
3 months
the most rent a landlord may hold as a cash deposit or bank guarantee
30 days
for the landlord to fix a defect you report; 3 days when the flat cannot be lived in
60 days
to get your deposit back after you hand the flat over and your bills are paid
01
Which leases the law covers
The tenant rules below apply to an ordinary lease of a flat to live in. Where they apply, a lease can change them only in the tenant's favour: a clause that takes a right away is void, even if you signed it.
They apply when all of these are true:
- The lease is for more than three months, or it can be extended beyond that.
- It is for ten years or less, or the landlord can end it sooner.
- The rent is not above the law's ceiling: ₪20,000 a month as written, raised every 1 January in line with consumer prices.
- It is not a hotel or holiday let, student or workers' housing, sheltered housing, or a flat under the old protected-tenancy (key money) law.
- The lease should be in writing and signed by both of you, and each of you gets a signed copy. A spoken agreement is still valid.
- It must say, among other things: the address, both names and ID numbers, the furniture and appliances included, how long it runs, any option to extend or right to end it early, the rent and how it is paid, any other payments, and any defect or nuisance the landlord knows about.
- When the landlord and tenant are close family (partner, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister), they may agree terms the law would otherwise not allow.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text) · Kol Zchut — the limit on the security a landlord may ask for (Hebrew)
02
Moving in: a flat fit to live in
The landlord must hand the flat over on the agreed day, empty of people and belongings except what was agreed, and fit to live in. Handing over a flat that is not counts as breaking the lease. The law lists what makes a flat unfit:
- No drainage or sewage system.
- No electricity or lighting.
- No openings for air and daylight with doors and windows to close them, including a front door that locks.
- No supply of drinking water.
- No partition between the toilet and the rest of the flat.
- An unreasonable risk to the tenant's safety or health.
On the day you get the keys, photograph every room, the walls, the appliances and the meters, and send the pictures to the landlord. The landlord must also give you instructions for using and looking after the flat and its appliances where they are needed.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text)
03
What you pay, and what the landlord may not pass on
| You pay | The landlord pays |
|---|---|
| The rent | Buying or upgrading fixed systems that serve the flat, such as a new water heater |
| Arnona (city tax) and other taxes on the occupier | Building insurance on the flat |
| Water, electricity, gas and heating you use | The fee of a broker who acted for the landlord |
| The building's regular upkeep (vaad bayit) | Other debts of the landlord's, such as one-off building works |
A lease clause that makes you pay something from the right-hand column is void, and you may refuse to pay it. You do pay for a change or improvement you asked for yourself, and for damage you caused (see Repairs below).
Broker's fees: you pay a broker only what you agreed with them in a signed written order. If the broker worked for the landlord and you signed nothing with them, the landlord's fee is not yours to pay, whatever the lease says.
The broker's usual fee, arnona and the house committee, worked out for your rent.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text) · Kol Zchut — payments a tenant may not be charged (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — a tenant does not pay the landlord's broker (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — rights of estate agents' clients (Hebrew)
04
The deposit: how much, and getting it back
A landlord may ask for one or more kinds of security. Security that costs you money (a cash deposit, a bank guarantee, or a guarantee bought from a credit or insurance company) is capped: all of it together may not be more than three months' rent, or the rent for a third of the lease if that is less.
| Rent ₪6,000 a month | Most security that costs you money |
|---|---|
| 12-month lease | ₪18,000 |
| 6-month lease | ₪12,000 |
Three months' rent is ₪18,000. On a six-month lease a third of the rent for the whole lease (₪12,000) is lower, so that is the cap.
Security that costs you nothing is not capped: a security cheque, a promissory note (shtar chov), or guarantors who sign for you. Landlords often ask for one of these as well.
Unpaid rent: up to the rent owed, with linkage and interest as the lease sets.
Repairs you had to make and did not: up to what the repair costs.
Unpaid bills you owe: arnona, water, electricity, gas or the house committee, up to the amount owed.
Not leaving at the end of the lease: the amount the lease sets.
Those four are the only reasons the landlord may draw on the security, and before doing so must warn you a reasonable time ahead and give you the chance to put things right.
When the lease ends, the landlord returns the security, or what is left of it, with any interest it earned, within 60 days of getting the flat back, or once your debts above are paid, whichever is later.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text) · Kol Zchut — the limit on the security a landlord may ask for (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — when a landlord may use the security (Hebrew)
05
Repairs: who fixes what, and how fast
Ordinary defect
30 days
from the day you ask the landlord to fix it
Urgent defect
3 days
when the flat cannot reasonably be lived in
- The landlord pays to fix any defect that is not minor and was not caused by unreasonable use: a broken water heater, a leak, a dead socket. A lease cannot move this onto you or allow longer.
- You pay for minor defects and for damage caused by unreasonable use, such as a drain blocked with wipes, unless the lease says the landlord will.
- The landlord may come in to inspect or repair at a reasonable time, after telling you a reasonable time ahead and disturbing you as little as possible.
- You need the landlord's consent to make changes to the flat.
Ask in writing
Tell the landlord what is wrong, with photos, by message or e-mail, so the date is on record.
If the deadline passes
Tell the landlord a reasonable time ahead that you will fix it yourself, then do so and claim back the reasonable cost. Or pay less rent, in proportion to how much the defect spoils the flat, until it is fixed.
If it cannot wait
A defect so urgent that you cannot be expected to wait for the landlord you may fix at once, without asking first, and claim back the cost.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text) · Kol Zchut — repairing defects in a rented flat (Hebrew)
06
Ending the lease, renewing it, leaving early
A lease for a fixed term binds both of you to the end. Neither side may simply walk away unless the lease has a clause allowing it or the other side has broken the lease. Read the cancellation clause before you sign.
| Notice | Landlord | You |
|---|---|---|
| To end the lease under a cancellation clause | 90 days at least | 60 days, or less if the lease says so |
| To use an option to extend | 90 days before the end | 60 days before the end |
A clause letting only the landlord cancel is void; the landlord may cancel without cause only if you can too. A landlord's option to extend works only on terms written into the lease in advance.
- With no option in the lease, the landlord must still tell you a reasonable time before the end whether they want to renew, and on what terms.
- To pass the lease to a replacement tenant or sublet, you need the landlord's consent, in advance and in writing. Under the law the landlord may not refuse on unreasonable grounds or set unreasonable conditions; if they do, you may go ahead without it, and a court can allow it even against the lease. Check your lease's own clause first: a dispute ends in court.
- If the landlord sells the flat, your lease carries on with the buyer. The landlord must tell you in writing before the handover, with the buyer's name and how to reach them.
Source: Rental and Borrowing Law, 1971, chapter on renting a home (sections 6–25O) (Hebrew text) · Kol Zchut — ending a lease early without a breach (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — extending a lease (the option) (Hebrew) · Kol Zchut — subletting a rented flat (Hebrew)
In short
This guide explains the rules in general terms and is not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates change; check the sources above and ask an Israeli lawyer before you sign.
