A major step towards shortening the housing construction process in Israel

Rafi Elmaliach, director general of the Planning Administration, revealed for the first time last night at the Tel Aviv and Central District Contractors and Builders Conference, in a conversation with Yedioth-Ynet real estate editor Hila Tzion, that in the coming weeks the Planning Administration will present a “construction and development” guide.

This guide will provide a structured, concise and clear format for the guidelines that must be included in a building plan. It is expected to shorten the building permit process by one to four years, as there is currently considerable confusion during the interim phase between the planning phase and the permitting phase, leading to significant delays in the permitting process.

“We are currently in a satisfactory situation with approved plans, but the issuing of permits and their execution takes a long time. As part of the efforts to reduce the time taken to obtain permits, we have put forward several measures, the main one being the cancellation of building exemptions, which will come into force next year. After meetings with the Association of Engineers and Architects of Local Authorities and the Association of Contractors, we will publish in the coming weeks a guideline for building and development plans that will clearly define what must be included in a building plan. This is a big announcement for contractors and a problem that we have promised to solve,” said Elmaliach.

Elmaliach also spoke about the construction efforts aimed at rehabilitating the northern region. “We have launched various initiatives in the north for the rehabilitation of the region, even before the establishment of a dedicated administration that is supposed to take over. We have identified lands where solutions can be created for the evacuees, mainly in rural communities, using mobile homes or areas that can accommodate modular buildings that could later be used by other residents who wish to relocate to the north once the evacuees return home. The need for such an administration is great. We have seen in the south, with the establishment of the Tkuma administration, that it centralized all efforts, and we need to establish this in the north as well. We already have the authority to do so, and we have already prepared plans.”

Rafi Elmaliach, Director General of the Planning Administration, at the Contractors and Builders Conference. (credit: NEO MEDIA)

Regarding real estate prices, Elmaliach said: “In the North and the South, prices are not going down. These areas will eventually be repopulated; we have no other land, but unfortunately, that will not happen in the coming days.”

On the end of Tama 38, Elmaliach commented: “Larger scale urban renewal plans are more appropriate, with the support of the Shaked alternative, which provides solutions to advance plans alongside permits.”