Finance Minister Yair Lapid: We are keeping our promises and fixing longstanding distortions.
The housing cabinet today approved all the items in the government housing plan which were put to a vote. There was only one proposal, about the criteria for affordable housing, added to the new version which was submitted today: families in the lowest 50% of income-earners will be eligible for eight credit points in the eligibility calculation. The Housing cabinet, chaired by Minister of Finance Yair Lapid, held its third meeting today. It approved eight items, two of which were not part of the original housing plan. It abolished the years of marriage criterion for affordable housing, which discriminated in favor of haredim (ultra-orthodox), and the ability to earn a salary will be a criterion for an eligibility point and threshold criterion for buying an apartment in "price for tenants" projects and long-term rent controlled leases. These criteria affect 70% of housing tenders. In tenders in religious communities, the ability to earn a salary will not be a threshold criterion.
The Housing cabinet also decided that the Public Housing Law will come into effect on August 1. The law allows residents of public housing to buy their apartments at a substantial discount and the Ministry of Housing and Construction will use the sale proceeds to buy and renovate apartments.
"We are keeping our promises and fixing longstanding distortions. These distortions gave priority to people who did not serve in the army and who do not work over those who work and serve in the army," said Lapid.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 1, 2013
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