How is renting an apartment in Israel different from US?

amother

Tue, May 04 2021, 11:00 pm

My dream idea is to make aliyah in a few years. We've been fortunate to be home owners for a while. But I don't want to jump back into home ownership again (especially moving to a new country). Is it realistic to just rent and rent and rent? Are there typical leases like the US? Are utilities commonly included or commonly not included? Is maintenance and building upkeep part of the owner's responsibility? I would think so but I don't want to assume.

I guess this is just a theoretical question at this point as we are a long ways off and I genuinely am curious.

amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, May 05 2021, 12:38 am

I think long term leases are less common in Israel than in the States. They exist, but far less common. Most leases are for a year or maybe two, with the option to extend another year or more. After that, a new contract is written if all parties are happy.

Utilities (water, electric) are not usually included, unless it's an illegal granny type flat and they don't have a separate utility meter.

Building maintenance (a cleaner to clean the stairwell, etc) is usually not included, although it's usually not a huge expense, not like I hear it is in the States.

Building upkeep is the owner's responsibility.

Arnona (city taxes) are usually not included.

essie14

Wed, May 05 2021, 1:14 am

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

Yes, I think dodgerblue pretty much covered it.
If you are a good tenant the owner will usually let you renew the lease every year, you can probably negotiate a 2 year lease, but prices jump so much that the owners want to be able to raise the rent when the market warrants it.
I have a few friends who have been renting the same place for 10 years. it's not totally unheard of.

Teomima

Wed, May 05 2021, 1:26 am

It's not uncommon to rent long term, a lot of people can't afford to buy, but leases usually need to be renewed annually. A homeowner is usually very happy to renew of you've been a good tenant but is likely to raise the rent every year or two.

Buildings are not owned by one person/company, rather individual units are owned by different people. Some homeowners live in their apartment, some rent it out. They're all called apartments whether or not the residents are the owners or renters.

Some landlords are great about being on top of repairs, some you have to chase after. When we rented we had an agreement that we would handle all repairs and deduct it from rent. That worked out well for us.

Apartments usually come totally unfurnished, without appliances, either. You take your appliances with you when you move.

Feel free to ask any other questions as they pop up.

Rappel

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:29 am

fiji wrote:

An unfurnished apartment in Israel means no appliances (fridge, oven, stove, washer/dryer).

True. Nor usually closets, medicine cabinets, soap dishes, or anything that gets built-in in an American home. There's a reason IKEA made it big here Smile

amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:36 am

Rappel wrote:

True. Nor usually closets, medicine cabinets, soap dishes, or anything that gets built-in in an American home. There's a reason IKEA made it big here Smile

Actually IME closets usually come with a rented apartment. It's too much of a hassle and expense to dismantle them. An owner usually rents out an apartment he or others previously lived in, and the closets stay.

Medicine cabinets are not such a thing here, most people don't leave their medication behind the bathroom mirror. That's a good thing. I never understood the point of leaving medication in the room where you take hot steamy showers.

amother

Puce

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:46 am

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

But where do you store your pads, facial wipes, qtips, nail clippers, bandaids, toothbrushes, toothpaste, face wash?

There's honestly no room for medicine in our "medicine" cabinet. I keep daily medicines in a kitchen drawer along with common painkillers. Anything else gets stored in a box above the fridge.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:50 am

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

Totally agree with them medicine cabinets thing! To store your pills in the bathroom and then you got to walk to the kitchen to get your water. Seems very unorganized to me...

Rappel

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:51 am

amother [ Puce ] wrote:

If there's no vanity cabinet, you buy one. Most of that list is divided between my private closet and a kitchen cabinet, though. Medicines are up in a kitchen cabinet too. Bathrooms here tend to be narrow and functional, without the extra room needed for personal care.

amother

Dodgerblue

Wed, May 05 2021, 5:55 am

amother [ Puce ] wrote:

But where do you store your pads, facial wipes, qtips, nail clippers, bandaids, toothbrushes, toothpaste, face wash?

.

Toothpaste, q-tips, toothbrushes - on the bathroom counter.
Things like nail clippers - there is usually at least one drawer in the bathroom sink cabinet. Usually several.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:16 am

amother [ Dodgerblue ] wrote:

Toothpaste, q-tips, toothbrushes - on the bathroom counter.
Things like nail clippers - there is usually at least one drawer in the bathroom sink cabinet. Usually several.

Bathroom sink cabinet? LOL

I am in israel since 1993 and if have never had a bathroom with a sink cabinet. Either a wall hanged cabinet or a free standing drawer unit or a free standing tall cabinet from IKEA. In my tiny tel aviv apartment I had a small corner shelf and then rest was on my washing machine Smile

Depends on the standard of the apartment

Rappel

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:21 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Bathroom sink cabinet? LOL

Depends on the standard of the apartment

I love israeli bathrooms. You can shower, pee, and wash your hands, all without ever having to move! Bonus points if you manage to squeeze a clothes washer in there, but can only open it halfway because the door meets the sink and stops to chat.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:24 am

Rappel wrote:

And in your home country how was the bathroom designed?

Rappel

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:24 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Driers: with israeli climate most people hang their laundry on the line.

Depends where. Itamar is in a pocket valley, so there's nice dewey air here. I wouldn't hang out my clothing here unless it's summer.

Rappel

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:28 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

And in your home country how was the bathroom designed?

With a little more space between all these items? I grew up in a 100 year old apartment building, and the bathtub was large enough for an adult, and you had to walk across the room to wash your hands. A vanity cabinet would not have taken up all the standing space in the room. A just-toilet bathroom was not just as wide as the door. Sometimes, I miss the expanse.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:32 am

Op, arnona is based on size of apartment. Every municipality has it's own method of calculating arnona. In tel aviv there were a lot of parameters depending. On age of the building, location in the city etc etc.
Givatayim was always famous for expensive arnona. Raananna outtageous.
also vaad habayit is something to think of.can be between 0 NIS to hundreds and hundreds each month.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 05 2021, 6:42 am

Rappel wrote:

Depends where. Itamar is in a pocket valley, so there's nice dewey air here. I wouldn't hang out my clothing here unless it's summer.

So you can't get the laundry dry except june July august? Scratching Head

No mountain breezes?