Israel's Treasury to promote home lease and buy plan

new apartments
new apartments

Tenants would pay a 10% deposit and own apartments after renting for 18 years.

Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon is promoting a new housing plan that would let many Israelis benefit from 'leasing apartments.' Under the terms of the plan, which has been crystallizing for some time, the Ministry of Finance would build apartments for leasing, which would eventually belong to their long-term tenants.

According to the plan, young couples fortunate enough to participate in the program through a lottery, would be asked to pay a 10% deposit on newly-built 120-sq.m. four-room apartments valued at NIS 750,000. After paying rent for 18 years, they would become the official owners of the apartment.

The Ministry of Finance would construct the homes by selling land at discounted prices to overseas building contractors, mainly US companies that would build the apartments in Israel. Dry construction systems would be used that cut the time it takes to build apartments by one third.

Financing would be provided by foreign banks. To date several foreign banks and construction companies have expressed interest in participating in the plan and their senior executives have even met with Israeli Ministry of Finance officials to discuss the matter.

Yesterday the government issued an official call for Israeli and overseas companies that can act as consultants to the Ministry of Finance in composing the tender for the project.

Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen said, 'In the first stage we would be talking about 10,000 housing units, and in the initial pilot there will be 1,000 housing units. This is a very revolutionary project, and one of a cluster of projects that the minister is leading and that will be launched successfully."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 27, 2015

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015

new apartments
new apartments
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