The unprotected lease and the 2017 law: what is imposed and what you still negotiate

Your contract carries the words « שכירות בלתי מוגנת », unprotected tenancy. That does not mean a tenancy without protection — it is the ordinary regime of almost every Israeli lease signed today, and since 2017 it carries a floor of rules that no clause can set aside.

"Unprotected" does not mean without rights

Protected tenancy (דיירות מוגנת) is an old regime, born of the 1972 law, which gave the tenant a right to stay almost indefinitely against a frozen rent, often after paying key money. It survives in a few very old leases and is no longer created.

Everything signed today is therefore unprotected: the lease has a term, the rent is free, and it ends on the agreed date. That is the regime you want as an owner, and the one you will have in any case.

What changed in 2017 is that an amendment to the 1971 Rental and Loan Law added a chapter on residential tenancies. It does not revive protected tenancy: it lays a floor of rules under a regime that had none.

Who the 2017 law applies to

Residential tenancies, and those only. An office, a shop or professional premises fall outside it: there the parties do as they please, and the contract stands in for the law.

Nor does it apply above a certain monthly rent — in the region of twenty thousand shekels, a threshold re-indexed every year — or to leases of three months or less with no extension option. Above the threshold, the legislator takes the view that the parties do not need protecting from each other.

Certain special kinds of housing are also outside it, such as student residences or homes for the elderly, which follow rules of their own.

The rules no clause can set aside

The dwelling must be fit to live in within the meaning of the schedule to the law: connected to drinking water, electricity and drainage, ventilated, naturally lit, with doors and windows that close, and free of danger to the health of those living in it.

Repairs not caused by unreasonable use are the landlord's, within a reasonable time and at the latest thirty days after the request — three days where the fault prevents normal use of the dwelling.

Building insurance stays with the landlord and cannot be charged on to the tenant. The estate agent's fee is owed by whoever engaged them: an owner who chose the agency cannot make the tenant pay for it.

The guarantees asked for — deposit and bank guarantee added together — are capped at the lower of three months' rent or one third of the total rent for the term. The promissory note and personal guarantors are not capped.

Finally, defects in the dwelling known at the time of signing must be written into the contract. And these rules are mandatory: a clause departing from them to the tenant's detriment does not protect you — the law prevails.

What stays entirely in your hands

The amount of the rent, the day of the month it is paid, whether it is linked to the price index, the length of the lease, whether there is an extension option and the increase that goes with it.

The house rules: pets, smoking, number of occupants, subletting, working from home. Requiring the tenant to insure their contents and third-party liability. The threshold below which small repairs fall to them.

The terms of departure: notice for early exit if you allow one, repainting on the way out, the notice period for saying whether the lease continues. None of that is imposed; all of it gains from being written, because what is not written gets argued about at the worst possible moment.

What happens when the contract crosses the line

The offending clause cannot be enforced against the tenant, but the rest of the contract stands. You do not lose your lease: you lose the advantage you thought you had written into it, and at the worst moment — the one where you wanted to use it.

A guarantee above the cap cannot be called on beyond the cap. A clause putting building insurance on the tenant does not get reimbursed. A contract silent about a known defect leaves the tenant free to demand it be repaired.

None of this needs a lawyer to avoid: it is enough that the contract be written knowing these rules. For an unusual situation — rent above the threshold, a commercial lease, a dispute already running — have it read before signing.

FAQ

What is an unprotected tenancy?+

The ordinary regime of Israeli leases today: a fixed term, a free rent, and an end on the agreed date. As opposed to protected tenancy, an old regime no longer created, which gave the tenant a right to stay almost indefinitely.

Does the 2017 law apply to my lease?+

If it is residential, the rent is under the threshold — in the region of twenty thousand shekels a month, re-indexed yearly — and the lease runs more than three months or carries an option, then yes. An office or professional premises are outside it.

Can I set these rules aside by a clause in the contract?+

No. They are mandatory: a clause departing from them to the tenant's detriment does not protect you. In a dispute the law prevails over the contract, and the rest of the contract stands.

Who pays for repairs?+

The landlord, for anything not caused by unreasonable use, within a reasonable time and at the latest thirty days after the request — three days if the fault makes the dwelling unusable. The contract may put small repairs on the tenant up to an amount you set.

Can I charge the estate agent's fee to my tenant?+

Not if you engaged them. The fee is owed by the party who called on the agent. Building insurance, likewise, stays with you and cannot be passed on.

My rent is above the threshold. What changes?+

The fair rental chapter no longer applies: the guarantee cap, repair deadlines and mandatory contents are no longer imposed on you. The contract becomes the only law between the parties — all the more reason to have a lawyer read it.

A contract that knows these rules before you do

The template carries the mandatory rules of the 2017 law, works out your guarantee cap from your own figures and refuses to go past it. You keep the hand on everything else: rent, term, pets, insurance, early exit.

Create my contract