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Frequently Asked Questions
Index:
Paying for maintenance of the elevator
Question:
As a resident living
on the ground floor of a building, am I required to participate in the
maintenance costs of an elevator which I never use?
(Written by Advocate Daniel Molco of the Agudah L'Tarbut HaDiur, for the
Maariv. Translated by Pearl Skolnik.)
Answer:
According to the Land
Law, the obligation to pay for maintaining public property, including an
elevator, of course, is not dependant upon use by the resident of the common
property.
For instance, all the
owners of the apartments in the building are obligated to pay for tarring of
the roof, even though such maintenance is important chiefly to the residents
of the top floor.
Another instance is
the central TV antenna in the building, for which all residents are
responsible, even if they have cable or satellite TV.
Therefore, you are
responsible to share towards the costs of maintaining the elevator, even if
you never use it.
If, however, the
building has not been yet registered as a cooperative building, or has been
as such and you are able to turn to the Director of Cooperative Buildings to
request that the building be registered as a mixed status building, it would
be possible that the division of maintenance be determined by the Director
in such a way as to free you from this obligation.
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Leaking pipes - who pays?
Question:
I would like to
receive an explanation of the laws regarding a pipe in a condominium which
causes leakages. We are speaking here about an inner pipe on an open porch
above my apartment, which collects the rainwater from the porch and passes
it to the sewage via a wall of my apartment. If the pipe causes leaking or
damp on my ceiling, who is responsible to fix the damage?
(Written by Advocate Daniel Molco of the Agudah L'Tarbut HaDiur, for the
Maariv. Translated by Pearl Skolnik.)
Answer:
Generally, a pipe
which services the building belongs to the entire building publicly. It
doesn’t matter where the damage occurs or who is affected – all the owners
in the building are equally responsible to bear the cost of fixing the
damage.
However, a pipe which
services one apartment only, is not owned by all the neighbors. Therefore,
the person responsible to repair the damage caused by the pipe is the person
to whom the pipe belongs – the person whose apartment the pipe services.
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The Kablan's responsibility
Question:
In an apartment
building of 2 years of age, the marble slabs in the stairwell have begun to
fall. In addition, the floors around the building have begun to sink,
especially after the rains. Is the contractor responsible to repair these
faults at his own cost? (Written by Architect Aryeh Maor of Amidor)
Answer:
Simply, yes. According
to the law of Property Transfer (1973) the building is currently in the
period of responsibility of the contractor, which begins from the day that
the building receives the certificate of occupation (Tofes Arba) and ends
according the following:
Peeling of wall
coverings in the staircase, settling of flooring in the parking lot,
pathways and sidewalks – 3 years.
It is worthwhile
noting that during this time the proof of damage is not the responsibility
of the owner, and therefore the contractor is required to fix the damage at
his own expense upon the owner’s notification of such.
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Preparation for Solar Water Heater
Question:
Can the contractor install just a
"preparation for a solar water heater" even if in all the descriptions and
plans of the project it is written specifically that it includes also a
solar water heater (dud shemesh)?
Answer:
According to the Building and Zoning
Code, every contractor that installs a water heating system in an
apartment building must make sure that it is a complete solar system.
Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to make sure that the contractor obligated
himself in the technical specifications that are attached to the contract
to install a complete system and not just a preparation for such an
installation, in order to prevent any arguments and misunderstandings
afterwards.
This same advice holds true for
installation of a gas line, TV antenna, water, etc.
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Repair of an upkeep problem arising
in condominium
Written by Advocate Sami Yisrael,
through the auspices of The Housing Improvement Association (HaAguda
l'tarbut HaDiur). 15/11/05. Ma'ariv. Translated by P.Skolnik.
Question: Signs of damp have
begun appearing in my apt, and to the best of my knowledge the leakage is
coming from the upstairs neighbor's bathroom. The neighbor has told me
that he is prepared to bring an experienced plumber to his home and to pay
for the damages only if it can be proved 100% and in advance that he is
responsible for the damage. I am unable to prove in advance the source of
the leakage, since there is a slight possibility that it is caused by a
pipe which is the responsibility of the building itself or from another
source. What can I do to solve this problem with this neighbor?
Answer: Regulation 3 in the
regulations for Condominium-Owned Housing determines that "an apt owner
has the right to ask of another neighbor to take responsibility for fixing
a problem in another apt, if not fixing the problem could negatively
affect the apt of the one asking for the repair. In case there is doubt
about the source of the problem, it is suggested to ask a professional to
give his opinion, in writing, and this opinion would obligate both sides.
If the inspection proves that the source of the leak is in the pipe that
belongs to the common property of the building, responsibility for its
repair falls on the building's representative (va'ad ha-bayit, elected
building committee responsible for upkeep of the building), and not on one
of the sides.
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Ownership of roof and its change
in status
Question: In a building of 4
apts and a commonly owned roof (owned by all 4 apts in a 2 storey
building), how many home owners are required to change the regulations
concerning ownership of the roof? Are the owners of 3 out of 4 of the
apts able to receive permission to officially attach part of the roof to
their apts?
Answer: In the case of
legally attaching the roof which is part of the commonly owned property,
it depends on the reason of the change: if it is for the purpose of
expanding an existing apt it is sufficient to have a majority of 75% of
the homeowners' written approval. However, if it is for the purpose of
adding another apt, 100% agreement of all apt owners is required.
Ordinarily in cases like this (of 2 storey buildings) the owners decide
that the owners of the ground floor take ownership of the gardens and
the top floor apts receive the roof. (However, I would check out
legally if there would be sale of the roof for the purpose of adding
apts, it would seem that the money received for the sale would be
divided equally among all homeowners, even taking into consideration the
fact that the gardens would be attached to the ground apt. It might be
that the gardens are worth less than the sale of the roof. Check this
out with a lawyer. pskolnik)
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Cellular antenna installation on
a roof of condominium building
Advocate Sami Yisrael, Ma'ariv:
15/11/05. (translated by pearl skolnik)
Question: What is the
required majority for agreement of installation of cellular antennas
on a condominium building?
Answer: In order to install
cellular antennas it is necessary to receive the permission of all the
apt owners, since we are speaking of installation of a structure that
did not exist when the building was completed by the contractor.
According to the regulations for condominium buildings this is
considered a violation of the apt owners' rights, and therefore, their
permission is necessary.
Question: Our va'ad habayit
(building committee representative) decided to install an antenna
without asking all the apt owners. Is it possible to change their
decision?
Answer: in general, in
order to install a cellular antenna on a roof one must call for a
general meeting and make a decision concerning such an installation by
a majority of al the apt owners. In addition, if the decision was
made only by the Building Representative (va'ad Habayit), the decision
is a violation of the va'ad's authority, unless it was authorized
officially for this purpose in the past by a general meeting (this
authorization and votes should be signed by each of the owners, so it
can not be claimed afterward that there is disagreement. pskolnik).
It is important to know that the
cellular companies do occasionally turn only to the Building Committee
or building's other representative and sign them on a contract. As
explained, this action is not proper or according to regulations.
Question: Is a building
permit necessary for the purpose of cellular antenna installation?
Answer: In order to install
a cellular antenna on a roof one must receive a building permit from
the local authority. It is possible for neighboring building apt
owners to register a complaint with the authorities if they are
convinced that such a structure is detrimental or negatively affects
the quality of life or uglifies the neighborhood.
Question: The cellular
company dismantled the antenna from the roof of a condominium building
and during the disassembly caused damage to the roof. Who is supposed
to pay for the repair of the damage?
Answer: If indeed the
disassembly of the antenna caused damage to the common property, it is
clear that the cellular company must repair and pay for the damage
caused. One must pay special attention to antennas resting on the
roof's tar paper sheets, since disassembling of the antenna can damage
these tar paper sheets.
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