Representing Owners Against the Developer in TAMA 38

What does the owners' lawyer do?

Represent only the apartment owners. The developer's lawyer represents the developer. The owners' lawyer reviews the offers, conducts the negotiations, ensures equality among the owners and adequate securities, and follows the execution.

In most projects the developer pays the fees of the lawyer representing the owners. That is common practice, but it does not make the lawyer the developer's representative. Make sure the lawyer was chosen by the owners, has no connection with the developer, and is available to every owner, not only to the committee. Anyone acting for the developer, or whose fee depends on the deal going ahead, must disclose it, and a breach allows an owner to withdraw consent (section 5E of the Strengthening Law).

What does the representation include, step by step?

Choosing a developer and comparing offers, negotiating the agreement and the securities, signing and tracking the majority, accompanying the construction period, and delivery and registration of the new apartments.

1. Choosing a developer. Checking the developer and its past projects, and comparing offers by consideration, securities and timetable.
2. Agreement and securities. Negotiating the consideration for each apartment, the specification, the securities, alternative housing, the deadlines and compensation for delay.
3. Meeting and signing. Checking that an owners' meeting was held and a key-terms document given, explaining the agreement to every owner, and verifying the signatures.
4. Construction period. Monitoring deadlines, securities and rent payments, and handling disputes with the developer.
5. Delivery and registration. Inspecting the apartments, the delivery protocol, dealing with defects, and registering the updated condominium.

What must the agreement include?

Defined consideration for each apartment and a binding specification, securities for delivery and rent, a timetable with compensation for delay, arrangements for alternative housing, an exit mechanism if the developer does not progress, and equality among the owners.

The full details, including capital gains tax on the new apartment and a feasibility calculator, are in the guide TAMA 38 and pinui-binui: what to check before signing on dira-law.

When the developer does not progress or does not meet its obligations

The law gives a majority of owners a tool to cancel deals when the developer missed the deadlines it sets. During construction, the agreement and the securities govern: compensation for delay, rent, and calling the guarantees.

• A developer that does not progress: in TAMA, if within 18 months of the first deal half the owners have not signed, within 3 years the majority was not reached, or within 3.5 years no permit application was accepted, a majority of owners may decide that those who signed may cancel (section 5C of the Strengthening Law).
• A deal without a meeting and key-terms document: a majority of owners may decide to cancel the deals as long as 40% have not signed (sections 1A to 1C of the Evacuation and Reconstruction Law).
• Abusive signing: signing in a language not understood without explanation, exploiting a disability or misleading information. The commissioner at the Government Authority for Urban Renewal may declare the deal void (section 5D of the Strengthening Law).
• Construction defects in the new apartment: see the article Construction defects in a TAMA 38 apartment.

What about a neighbour who does not sign?

When there is a majority, the owners who signed and the developer can sue the refusing owner before the Superintendent of Land Registration. The forum examines whether the refusal is unreasonable. Before such proceedings it is worth trying dialogue: sometimes a change in the consideration or the securities resolves the dispute.

An owner who objects to the project? The page Representing an owner who objects to TAMA 38 or pinui-binui explains when a refusal is reasonable and what can be achieved.

What have the courts ruled?

When the developer is late, owners may seek interim relief that secures their ability to collect, and when registration does not progress, the court can hand the task to a receiver. A developer's dispute with other owners does not release it from its obligations.

Civil Case 18927-03-20 Perovsky v. Maribo 6-8

Herzliya Magistrates' Court, 4.10.2020 (decision)

Apartment owners in a TAMA 38 project sued for compensation for a 33-month delay. The court left in place a temporary attachment on the developer's rights in the penthouse built in the project: it found the developer was not financially sound, among other things because the building contractors changed due to financing difficulties, and held that the request was not delayed, since the need for it arose only when the occupancy certificate (Form 4) was issued and the bank guarantee was about to be cancelled. The attachment on the guarantee itself was cancelled.

Civil Case 57604-06-21 Raviv v. R.S.T. Building and Investments

Tel Aviv District Court, 10.8.2025

In a TAMA 38 project in Rishon LeZion, the condominium order had not been amended six years after the apartments were delivered. The court held that the registration duty is a duty of result, and that the developer's disputes with the original owners, over compensation and parking, were within its control and do not release it. It appointed the plaintiffs' lawyer as receiver for the registration, and ordered the developer to pay costs and legal fees of NIS 60,000.

What should you bring to the meeting?

The developers' offers, the draft agreement if any, the key-terms document, the land registry extract and the condominium order, and the committee's details.

• Developers' offers and the draft agreement.
• The key-terms document and the minutes of the owners' meeting, if held.
• The land registry extract, the condominium order and the bylaws.
• The list of owners and the committee's details.
• Letters and notices from the developer.

Timing and cost

Timing: comparing offers and negotiating the agreement usually take months, depending on the number of owners and the complexity of the project. The representation continues until delivery and registration.

Cost: the fee is set in a written agreement after the project has been reviewed. Where the developer pays the fee, this is stated expressly in the agreement, and it does not change whom the lawyer represents.

The owners' lawyer or the developer's lawyer?

The developer's lawyer drafted the agreement in the developer's favour. A lawyer acting for the owners reviews it from your side and checks that the securities and obligations are honoured to the end.